The Corner Store
by Pwale
Summary: AU Scraping a living is hard enough without having to crack a jewelry heist, solve a whodunnit murder and discover an age-old secret of the cosmos. Thankfully Kagome's got a new neighbor to help her out. Now if only Inuyasha would stop lying. InuKag R&R!
1. The Corner Store

_**AN**_:_ Well, here I go again! Several things of interest that I ought to mention about this story._

_1: Yes, Noldon and Dalune are based of London and England, in more then just spelling. But this way I can stick to my pretty, stereotypical and totally off-base image of London in this time-period, and I don't have to research facts. I know it's lazy, but it's so much easier!_

_2: Queen Sky isn't made up. Well...Not exactly. She is made up, sort of, but not by me. Let's hear it for my dear friend, Walrus-chan, who'll be making her first appearance in this story! (The sound of applause is heard). But this is __**not**__ a self-insertion story. I don't even know if she's going to show up, but I needed a monarch._

_I just thought that she'd make a funny queen._

…

_Oh, and for first-timers, I tend to write my fanfics like someone who reads too much. Therefore, I'm a growing writer, and my plots __**develop**__. This takes time. Be patient if I don't give it all away in the beginning. I like to keep my readers reading. I'm also very silly, and as such some things probably won't make sense. I apologize, my only excuse is that, well, hey. I'm learning!_

_**Disclaimer**_

_Pwale: Okay, usually I write something funny, a script something for these things but…This time, I've got nothing._

…

_[Insert crickets here_

_Mr. X: Barricade all the doors! A hippo may be coming again!_

_Pwale: No…seriously I've got-hey this is something! It gives me an idea for the next one!_

_Lawyer #1: …The next what, Pwale?_

_Pwale: The next disclaimer!_

_Lawyer #2: And what do you write in these disclaimer things, anyway?_

_Pwale: …That you don't own the character…Have you finally cracked?_

_Sesshomaru: I thank Copyright laws every day for those two guys. They may not do much, but they try their best. And that's something._

_Kurogane-san: Ugh…My head hurts…Wha-…WHAT THE FCK?!?!?!?!?!_

…

_All: Uh-oh…_

_Pwale: Now how did __**he**__ get out of my closet so soon?_

_**The Corner Store**_

_By Pwalefriend_

_1850_

_Noldon, the capitol of Dalune_

_3__rd__ year in the reign of her Majesty, Queen Sky_

It was December again. The snow fell softly, silently, plip-plip-plip from the sky and onto the filthy street. Inside Kagome Higurashi smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress.

The small well-to-do jewelry shop where she and her best friend Miroku worked was well-lit and perfumed, but the only fire that warmed them was on the other side of the room. Kagome _really_ wished that the customer would leave so that she could go over there and warm herself. But instead she was doomed to wait behind the counter as Miroku talked that lady in the furs into buying that hideous gold enamel brooch that they all wanted out of the shop. Usually that was the girl's job, but Miroku was better at it then anybody else, what with his smooth voice, educated words and handsome face. Their employer, a single woman named Kagura, had said once that he could talk the moon into shining like the sun, if he met a pretty girl who said she was afraid of the dark.

Kagome had quoted her several times since.

"Miss Kagome!" Miroku called as he escorted the lady in furs and, more importantly, the hideous brooch over to her counter. "This young lady has stated a desire to take my favorite brooch from us!"

The "young lady" who had to be in her late forties, twittered and blushed like a teenaged schoolgirl receiving her first compliment from a slightly older boy. Kagome inwardly smirked. Miroku had caught the customer, line, hook and sinker. Now all that remained was for Kagome to deliver her act, and this was a play she knew well.

Kagome sighed dreamily and eyed the brooch as she wrapped it up in the expensive tissue paper that they used for their small pieces.

"It's such a fine piece, too." She said. "And it'll look so lovely on you! Someday I hope that _I'll_ get to wear something just as fine."

The lady in furs smiled patronizingly and patted Kagome's hand when she passed over the money for the brooch.

"Don't worry dear." Said the lady in furs kindly. "You just keep working! Why, you wouldn't know it to look at me now, but when I was your age I was just a shop girl myself. But now look at me! Married to Sir Callows, no less!" And with a little giggle Lady Callows left the little jewelry shop at the corner of Second St. and Roster Lane. Only the third customer in what was going to be a very busy day.

And that's where our story will begin.

…

When Miroku had closed the shades on the windows and locked the door, and therefore closing the shop, Kagome gave a deep sigh. She leaned down and rested her head in her hands.

"I _never_ want to see that old man again!" She said. "He keeps _leering _at me!"

Miroku nodded.

"Shame he's a regular, isn't it?" He said. Kagome didn't even bother to send him a glare; she knew it would only make her Miroku happier.

"Oh, shut up." She mumbled instead. Miroku laughed and slid behind the counter to give her a hug around her shoulders.

"Cheer up Kagome." He said. "Look at it this way, we've got a well-paid job, we're both educated, and we're surrounded by beauty every day!"

Kagome, looking up, saw the dreamy look in her old friend's eye and said wryly-

"Why do I have a feeling that you're not referring to the jewelry?"

"If he was referring to my pretties," said a new voice. "I'd have to hurt him."

Kagome and Miroku both jumped. When they hadn't been paying attention their employer Kagura had come in through the back door, with her was her little sister Kanna. Kanna also made most of the jewelry for the store, the little girl was quiet and creepy, but a genius artist. She also had a soft spot for cats and teddy bears, which made Kagome convinced that the little girl was a wonderful and kindly person deep, deep down. Even Kanna disagreed with her on that point, but they had all decided long ago to let Kagome have her delusions.

"Have you no faith in me?" Miroku said to Kagura, as if offended. "Of course I was referring to the girls!" He grabbed Kagome by the waist and spun her out from behind the counter. "The fairest Kagome is by far the loveliest among them! And I get to spend every minute with her! Why, we even share a home together!"

Kagome laughed.

"We share a lodging house!" She said. "How many times must I remind you that it's not the same thing? We share the lodgings with a few others too!"

"But they do not have your place in my heart!" Miroku protested, looking shocked.

Kagura chuckled a bit then.

"What about your bed?" She asked, knowing full well that Miroku was the only man in that particular lodging house. Miroku gave a little sigh.

"Well," he said. "I couldn't exactly say _share_, since Kagome has no place in my bed anymore-"

Kagura raised an eyebrow.

"Anymore?" She asked. Kagome winced.

"Ever!" She said. "I was sick once a while ago and fell asleep in his bed."

"It was a night I shall remember forever!" Miroku said dramatically, putting a hand to his heart. Kagome whacked him on the head.

"You weren't even there!" She snapped at him. "You were busy sleeping in someone _else's _bed!"

"Sleeping?" Miroku said with a wicked grin. "Who said anything about-"

"_A thief_." Kanna interrupted in a low voice.

Silence reigned as everyone looked at her in confusion, their playful teasing and flirting brought to an end.

"A thief." Kanna said again, looking up to meet Kagura's eyes. "There's a thief about. Tell them."

Kagura sighed.

"That's actually what I came out to tell you children." Kagura said. "There was an odd series of burglaries today."

Miroku, who had still had his arms around Kagome's waist, let go of her and pulled up a stool for Kagura to sit on. He and Kagome shared a glance. Stealing was nothing new in Noldon, so why was their employer looking so suddenly worn down and haggard.

"By _odd_, what do you-" Kagome began to ask.

"Nothing broken." Kagura interrupted. "No one was hurt, nothing was broken, and there was no warning, there were no clues left. If ten different jewelry stores hadn't reported a theft within one hour today, all just like this, the cops would have just assumed that somehow the assistants had lost the pieces."

Miroku gave a low whistle.

"Ten different robberies, in ten different stores, with no clues or scents left behind, nothing damaged, and all within one hour?" Miroku asked.

"Doesn't sound possible." Kagome said. Kagura shook her head.

"Oh, it is." Kagura said in a dark voice.

"Kagura, why do you know?" Kagome asked.

Kagura shrugged.

"The cops called around." She said. "There was a case like this about five years back, it ended with a murder. Caused a huge scandal. The perpetrator was never caught. I think they're worried that it's the same thief."

"Who was murdered?" Kagome asked. Kagura shrugged again.

"I can't remember." She said. "Five years is a long while, and I was just getting this store started at the time. I wasn't that interested in a thief who struck big stores, not little ones like mine."

Miroku looked around at their posh surroundings.

"Kagura…You started out little?" Miroku asked sounding shocked. "I thought that you were always rich!" Kagura glared at Miroku.

"I could fire you now, little man." She hissed. Miroku jumped to attention and saluted.

"Boss lady, yes boss lady!" He barked. Kagura gave a small smile and shook her head. Then she stood.

"I just thought you guys ought to know. Don't tell anyone, it's still _classified information_, at least according to the fuzz. So keep your eyes peeled tomorrow." She stretched her arms up to the ceiling. "You two can go on home now. I'll finish closing up."

Kagome and Miroku nodded, grabbed their coats from behind the counter, said good bye to Kagura and kissed Kanna on the cheek, and then headed back to their lodging house. Luckily it wasn't that far away, just a few streets, and well-walked ones at that.

"Did Kagura seem worried to you?" Kagome asked after she and Miroku had walked a little bit in silence. Miroku nodded, frowning.

"She did. And these robberies…There's something she's not telling us. She wouldn't just bring them up like that without good reason."

"She didn't give us a good reason." Kagome said. She didn't have to, they both knew it, but she said it anyway.

They felt awkward about this. On one hand, they were probably jumping ahead of themselves. On the other…Kagura had gone from cheerful and joking to weary and worried.

And since when did Kanna actually _let_ them kiss her on the cheek? It was a game they played. They tried to do it every night when Kagura came to say good night and Kanna would turn away or put something in the way of their lips or something else. But this night she had just sat there, as limp as a rag doll, her eyes trained on Kagura with a fierce fixation.

Kagome and Miroku thought about how curious it all was on the way back to their rooms in the lodging house. When they were outside her door, Kagome sighed.

"If it is something," she said. "And mind, I'm not saying that it is, but _if_ it is, then we'll figure it out eventually." She said. "How about we wait a bit before thinking on it again. The way I see it, either it'll all blow over or it'll get bigger and if it gets bigger _then_ we can play detective."

"Sounds good to me, Kagome." Miroku said. He turned across the hall to go into his room, then stopped and gave her a sly glance.

"You know," he said. "If-"

"You are not going to finish that sentence." Kagome said in an icy voice, giving him the scariest look she knew how.

Miroku sulked.

"Oh come on!" He whined. "Shippo gets to sleep in your room!" Kagome gaped at him,

"_Shippo_," she snapped. "Is _four years old_. Now go _away_, you dirty old pervert!" And with that Kagome stomped into her room.

Miroku chuckled to himself. People may say that being the comic relief was a stupid and minor position, but Miroku often thought that it was a very important one. If they didn't have it, think how _serious _and _trying_ life would be!

He opened his door and, following Kagome's instructions like a good little boy, went to bed and fell asleep. For all his teasing, he was tired. It had been a long day.

…

Kagome brushed the hair out of Shippo's face. The little boy was her small nephew, who had opted to stay with her then go out to the country with his father (her brother, Sota). Sota was looking for work, Kagome had it. It was a practical decision. It had made Sota sad and Shippo had cried for the first week, but it had worked out in the end.

Or so they hoped. No one had gotten a letter from Sota in a month.

Kagome sighed.

'_A mystery, eh?'_ She thought. _'Life, do I not need another one right now.'_

But if there was a mystery coming her way, then there was nothing she could do to prevent it. Instead she climbed into her bed beside Shippo. She was pleased to find that the lively fire (which Shippo had probably set up before falling asleep) and the boy's body warmth had made her bed all toasty and warm.

Next door, Miroku had no such luck.

I suppose that it just goes to show.

…

_And so ends the first chapter of this brand new story. I hope that you liked it, and I hope that you continue reading! _

_**Roar!**_

_Oh yes, and new time readers? I have a Review Lion. (Pwale wriggles her eyebrows). The Review Lion is here to make sure that people review. If you do not review…well…_

_**ROAR!!!**_

_Not saying that I'm threatening you! No, no!_

_Well…_

_Let's put it this way…_

_Wink-wink-nudge-nudge-know-what-I-mean-know-what-I-mean-say-no-more-say-no-more._

_**Roar**_

_You get the picture._

_Please review!_

_Sincerely_

_Pwalefriend_


	2. Knight and Dread Dragon

_**A special thank you to…**_

_**EBF…kittyb78…readingwriting wench…**_

…

_If you are under the impression that Shippo is a twisted child from this chapter, I recommend that you read the well known comic Calvin and Hobbes. Then you'll believe me, it could be worse. _

_Besides, they were __**oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies**__. Sacrifices had to be made!_

_Oh! And for those who are interested, my penname on is the same, so just search for Pwalefriend and you'll get my account. Like I've mentioned to the person who asked, I've only got one story up there at the moment but I'm working on another. _

_Disclaimer:_

_Mr. X: See Pwale? And you were all worried and sad when you finished TSOG! We're still all together._

_Pwale: (Sniffles) I…I guess you're right, Mr. X._

_Mr. X: Now Pwale, since you're feeling better, I've been meaning to talk to you about…this._

_Pwale: About what, Mr. X?_

_Mr. X stares around at the café they're sitting in, with it's anime character waiters. Inuyasha is currently trying to convince Lawyer #2 that Lawyer #1 didn't tip the right amount._

_Mr. X: Erm, nevermind._

_Suddenly a hippo bursts through the wall, on it's side in big red letters are the words PWALE DOESN'T OWN THE CHARACTERS!!!_

_Mr. X: Pwale!_

_Pwale: What? I had no idea where I was going with it. I was out of ideas!_

_Mr. X: But why…WHY THE HIPPO?!!? WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE HIPPO!_

…

_Ahem._

…

_**The Corner Store**_

_**Knight and Dread Dragon**_

_By Pwalefriend_

_1850_

_Noldon, capitol of Dalune_

_3__rd__ year of the reign of her Majesty Queen Sky_

_(I was tempted to write Queen Naraku, don't ask me why)_

…

"Okay Shippo," Kagome called as Miroku handed over her long brown coat. It was morning and it was time for them to go to work. "Miroku and I are off! Remember, if you need anything just come to the store or ask Kaede-"

Kaede was their landlady.

"Yes, Kagome." Shippo, who was sitting at the single table in their small apartment, said in a bored voice. It was all the usual things, she told him every morning and ever morning he nodded and made affirmative noises without actually listening.

"And be sure not to open the door _for anyone_! Remember, anyone who's allowed to come in already knows _how_ to come in!"

Shippo rolled his eyes. Kagome said that little rhyme every morning. For some reason she seemed to think it was clever. It may have been catchy, the first time. It stopped being catchy the second time. That had been a long while ago.

"Yes, Kagome." Shippo said again.

"And remember-" Kagome started.

"Kagome!" Miroku interrupted. "Come on! He's your nephew! He can take care of himself and it's not as if this hasn't happened _every_ morning since he came to stay! We, on the other hand, are late and need to go!" And with that he dragged her out of the door.

Shippo ran to the window and watched as his aunt's friend (a giggling Miroku) dragged his aunt (a red and whining Kagome) by her gloved hand out of the building and down the snowy road.

Shippo loved the mornings after a midnight snowfall. They were perfect for-_well_…

Shippo reached under the bed and drew out the thing that he had been worried Kagome would find all day yesterday and that morning. Good thing she hadn't. Shippo set it in his lap and just sat back, admiring it. Oh, he was just so _clever_! And no one would ever _guess_ that _he_, little innocent Shippo, was the one who had taken it.

Shippo leapt up and thrust at the air with the make-believe sword he had made yesterday from Kaede's chair leg. It had been a daring exploit, in which Kaede (though she hadn't know it at the time) had been an evil dragon that had taken hostage three beautiful princesses (all that was left of last week's cookie batch) and the "sword" had just been an added bonus. A "reward" for saving three such beautiful (delicious) princesses (oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies) from the dread dragon…Kaede.

…

Shippo hadn't been able to think of another name.

But after he had defeated the dreaded monster (he had clobbered Kaede on the foot after breaking her chair and taking her last three cookies) he and the princesses had been forced into hiding for a long time. So long, in fact, (went through lunch time) that they had to resort to cannibalism!!! The princesses (the cookies) had understood (had been eaten).

But now there were more important matters to face.

Now that Sir Shippo had the magic sword Xgaliger (not at all related to Excalibur, however they may sound alike) it was time to face his biggest challenge yet, something that all children fear-

He was going in. Armed to the teeth and ready for anything. Today was the day, all the lies, all the secrets, the doubt, the misunderstandings, the sorrow, it would all end.

Today was the day he would find out _why_ Miroku never let anyone read that leather-bound book he kept under his mattress and never let anyone, not even Kagome, touch.

After all, it couldn't be a _diary_. That was a _girly_ thing. Ew! It had to be something either really important, or really perverted.

Hey. He was four, not stupid.

All right. He was going…right _now_!

…

If there was one thing Kagome was good at, Shippo found out in that hour, it was impressing upon a mind what _not_ to do.

In other words, he was too scared to go and find out.

Well, there was always tomorrow. And unless he was very mistaken he could smell a new batch of Kaede's cookies. Time to go…_rescue_ more…_princesses_ from the…_dragon_.

Shippo chuckled evilly to himself. _Ah!_ He thought. _It's good to be young_.

…

Kagome was wrapping up a small bracelet for a little rich girl. It was a fairly simple gold braid, and the child had insisted on _that_ pink tissue paper and _that_ shiny silver box for _her_ bracelet. Kagome took the money that the child's nanny was handing her and smiled at the girl before giving the girl the jewelry box.

"Here you go." Kagome said. "Enjoy!"

"Hmph." Said the child as snootily as possible. "Well, _really_. About _time_." And with that she marched from the store, the nanny anxiously trailing behind.

Since there were still customers in the store Kagome resisted the urge to make a face at the girl and say "_Hwell, how rude._" Instead she just gave a small prayer of thanks that Shippo wasn't as monstrous as most of the rich little snobs that came into the shop all day. Besides, weren't they all supposed to have tutors or go to a boarding school to keep them busy or something? Maybe there was an entire crew of them waiting around the corner and a leader was saying "Okay, in about five more minutes, Susan K. you'll go to make Kagome's life a misery. Remember, you're going to have to keep changing your mind and blaming her for it! And after you the two Mary L's will go. Everyone good with this?"

Given Kagome's luck, it wasn't that farfetched.

Kagome gave a little sad sigh as she watched Miroku show the old man who always leered at her a gentleman's brooch. It hadn't always been this way. Once upon a time she'd been a lot poorer, barely a roof over her head, a rotten vegetable maybe once every other day, not a penny to her name. Then her little brother had gotten married to a woman who lived in a town house and they had loaned her enough money so that she could buy proper clothes and Kagura had hired her. It's amazing that you can't ever get a decent job when your clothes are falling off your body and half-rotted away, but a little bit of spit and shine and you're hired straight away. They year Shippo had been born they gave her another loan so that she could move out of their attic and get an apartment in the same lodging house as her co-worker and new friend, Miroku.

Three years later Sota's wife and Shippo's mother had died of pneumonia and Sota had, in his grief, dumped Shippo at Kagome's and gone out into the country with a new and mysterious job.

For the while in the beginning they'd gotten regular letters and quite a good deal of money from him, though he'd never told them exactly what it was he was doing. But then the letters had stopped. No one had heard from him in months.

"-Ome! Kagome!" Miroku's voice broke into her reverie and Kagome looked up, only to find that stupid old man _leering _at her _again_. She hid her grimace and put on a bright and cheery smile instead.

"I'm sorry!" She exclaimed. "Don't know what got into me! Do excuse me, have you chosen already? Very good."

…

"Hey, Officer Sango." Said the head's secretary, Koharu, as she stopped by the open door of Sango's new office. "Mr. Mushin wants to see you." Sango nodded and Koharu walked away. Sango, against her better judgment, stared. Koharu had _that walk_, that annoying, jaunty, swing-your-hips, look-at-me-I've-got-sex-appeal walk. Sango always wondered how Koharu could walk like that without looking _stupid_. And why did she call Mushin _Mr. Mushin_? Sango didn't want to know…the last secretary had called him Dr. Mushin…

…

Sango was _sure_ that she never, never, ever, ever wanted to find out.

With a sigh Sango got up and slung her jacket over her shoulder. Heading to the office, she ignored all the snickering looks she was getting from her colleagues. She got enough because she was the only female officer in the force, but honestly! The boys were going a little bit overboard, weren't they? Oh dear. This must mean that Mushin was having another one of his _fazes_. Sango _hated_ his _fazes_. During the last one he had demanded that for All Hollows Eve every member of the force come in dressed as a rooster, except for her. Oh _no_, _she_ had to come in dressed as a _hen_.

Normally Sango would have refused, but she had spent years trying to get her job and she wasn't about to give it up now.

Nervously Sango pushed open the office door and peered in.

"Ah, Sango. Come in." Mushin said, looking up. Sango approached with caution. He _looked_ sober, but with Mushin you never could really tell.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" She asked. Mushin gestured at a chair that sat at the side of his desk.

"Yes, Sango. Sit down." Sango sat. "I have a case for you, Sango. And you'll be working at it alone."

Sango straightened. A case? A solo case? What was the catch?

Mushin threw a file at her.

"There it is." He said. "Get to work. Take your time, it's not really top priority."

Sango waited. Was that it? She knew that Mushin refused to stand on ceremony, but normally he at least had some _necessities_. Was he really being that lax about assigning her first solo case? Mushin looked up at her puzzled face.

"Yes?" He asked. "Was there something else you needed?"

"Oh, erm, no sir. G'day sir. Thank you sir." Said Sango, and she grabbed the file and ran out of the office.

Something didn't feel right.

Sango walked briskly back to her tiny desk, noticing how all the superior smirks and leers seemed to take on a whole new meaning. The meaning went something along the lines of _We Know Something You Don't Know, Nyah Nyah Ny-Nyah Nyah, We Know Something You Don't Know._ She was relieved to finally fall back down into her cushioned seat at her cluttered desk. She looked down at the folder in her hands. There was no label. She opened the file and read a few pages.

Koharu watched indiscreetly from the other side of the hall. She didn't notice how some of the senior officers were also watching the female rookie with a slightly worried frown and an almost nostalgic look in their eyes. One or two of them may even have been described as "looking guilty" only they were police officers and there's a sort of arrogance that comes with the job, so that when normal people are looking guilty you're standing there looking vaguely frustrated.

The watched as Sango snorted and flipped to the back of the file, a frown growing on her face. She read the last page and flipped back to the front, her frown deepening. She got up and looked at the files that were stored on a shelf near her desk. Then she turned and saw Koharu, who blushed and tried to pretend that she hadn't been watching Sango.

"Koharu." Sango said. "I'm taking my lunch break." And then Sango stalked out of the building, looking angry.

All the senior officers shifted uneasily. _One day closer to retirement_. They all thought. _And if I do good now, maybe I can get out of this mess early_.

…

"It's such a beautiful piece!" Kagome was saying as she wrapped up a pair of legitimately lovely jade earrings with beaten metal feather patterns. "Some day I hope that _I_ can afford to wear such beautiful things."

The young man who was buying the earrings for his sweet heart smiled anxiously. "Are you sure they go with brown eyes?" He asked nervously. Kagome smiled.

"They were made for brown eyes," she said. "I happen to know the artist and that's exactly what she said when she delivered them to the shop!" The man smiled, a little relieved, and soon left with his purchase. Kagome put the money in the register and turned-to find herself face to face with Kanna. Kanna frowned.

"They were made for green eyes." Kanna said. "I told you that when I brought them to the shop." Kanna's frown deepened. "You _lied_." Kagome smiled nervously.

"Well, yes, but they won't look horrible with brown eyes." Kagome said.

"Yes they will." Kanna disagreed. "That shade of jade will outshine them, instead of annunciating them like it should."

"…Ah." Kagome shifted nervously. Behind her she heard the doorbells jingle and Kanna's eyes darted up, looking at something over Kagome's shoulder.

"Shippo?" Miroku's voice came questioningly. "Kaede?" Kagome spun around and, sure enough, there was Kaede and Shippo. Shippo was sulking and Kaede looked angry.

"Er…Is there a problem?" Kagome asked hesitantly. She felt rather then heard Kagura and Kanna come to stand just behind her. "Is Shippo in trouble?" Kaede frowned down at Shippo.

"I'll say!" She snapped. "Shippo, you tell Kagome what you did!"

Shippo pouted and then said-

"Well, I had to rescue these princesses from the dragon! I couldn't just leave them there, now could I? I had to save 'em! But my Xgaliger wasn't gonna be enough, and I knew it, but I'd heard tale of these two super lances, so I went and I got 'em! And _then_ when I got to the princesses I found, will you get this, I found I _giant_ who was _eating_ them! Well, I had to defend 'em, didn't I! Was a knight in shining armor, I was! So I challenged the giant to a duel to the death, like any good knight should. But that bloody-"

"Shippo!" Kagome gasped. Shippo looked chastened, and amended his language.

"-That stupid giant wouldn't play fair, and he called the dragon to help him, and now the princesses are probably all dead and gone and it's _not my fault 'cause I didn't do nothin' wrong, like I said!_"

There was a moment of baffled silence. Then Kaede spoke up.

"What he means is that he broke the legs off my rocking chair and then snuck into the kitchen to steal some of my fresh cookies. He found a new boarder snacking on some and challenged the poor man to a duel. The man called me in and I brought him here."

There was another moment of baffled silence.

"Shippo!" Kagome gasped. "You know you shouldn't-"

"Did you land a hit?" Miroku interrupted excitedly, then he started laughing.

"Now Shippo, you see Kagome-" Kaede tried.

"Ohhhh, you challenged him to a _duel_! That's just too _much_!" Miroku crowed, clutching his stomach he was laughing so hard.

"Miroku! You're not helping!" Kagome admonished.

"_He was eating the princesses!_" Shippo screeched. Kagura sighed in annoyance and, striding forward grabbed Shippo's chin and forced him to look at her.

Shippo looked up and found that he staring into the eyes of the coldest and most elegant woman he'd ever seen. She was _truly_ a dragon lady. She terrified him to the core. He gulped and Kagura smiled with deliberate slowness.

"Hello Shippo." She said. "My name's Kagura. Do you know who I am?" Shippo nodded, eyes wide and frightened. Kagome, Miroku and Kaede all looked on with interest. Kanna looked around, bored. No one had ever seen Shippo so frightened before.

"Good." Kagura said. "I'm very glad that you know who I am. That saves us a lot of time, doesn't it? Yes. It does. Now Shippo, I'm going to tell you this once and I expect that I will only need to tell you this once, you're going to behave from now on."

Tears were welling up in Shippo's eyes. This was so _scary_.

"Do you want to know what will happen if you don't behave? No? Well I'll tell you anyway. Kagome and Miroku will come here and tell me and then I will come and…_visit_. And we wouldn't want _that_, now _would_ we?"

Shippo shook his head passionately. No, he _really_ didn't want _that_.

"_Good._" Kagura said. And that was that, there was no need for anymore. Shippo had got the message loud and clear.

The adults started talking about boring and grown-up things and Kanna drifted over to Shippo. The two children, one four and one twelve, stared at each other for long moments. It was a stare full of meaning, the stare one bizarre child gives another bizarre child when they meet and recognize one another as peers yet are reluctant to admit them as comrades.

Shippo blinked.

"Do you like teddy bears?" Kanna asked. Shippo stuck out his tongue.

"Teddy bears are for _girls_." Shippo said. Then he shuffled his feet. "But…I've got a stuffed kitty…Do you like kitties?"

Kanna looked slightly uncomfortable.

"…I'm allergic to cats." She said after a little while.

"…Oh." Shippo said.

The two poor kids were forced to remain awkward until Kagome _finally_ announced-

"Well, we'd best be heading home."

Shippo leapt into her arms and buried his head in her shoulder.

"Oof." Kagome said. "G'night Kagura, Kanna." Kagome leaned down and aimed a kiss for Kanna's cheek but instead nearly toppled over when Kanna ducked out of the way. Then Kagome lovingly petted Shippo's head and she carried him home, despite Kaede making pointed remarks about how coddled boys grew up to be softies and didn't last long and Miroku's offers to take the load off her. The poor boy had been scolded by Kagura and then had tried to socialize with Kanna. He deserved some comfort.

Meanwhile Kagura and Kanna slowly and with all deliberateness closed up shop. An onlooker would have noticed how they avoided one another's eyes and would have wondered about Kagura's clenched jaw. Then this onlooker, seeing as how it was a cold December night, would have gone someplace warm. Possibly where there was nice hard apple cider. At the very least where there was pie. It was a pie sort of night.

Only twenty minutes after Kagura and Kanna (who was so bundled up in coats and scarves and furs she looked like a walking fuzzy ball of fluff with a tassel on top) left the shop and headed for home where their housekeeper almost certainly had a lovely meal waiting for them a young female officer came walking briskly up to their shop and peered in the window. Sango cursed when she saw that she was too late, the shop was closed, she must have lost track of time while in the library. Such a shame! She had discovered that there had been a case just like this one five years ago and that it had ended up with a murder. She already knew that from looking through the file. But after some digging in the archives she'd found that a seven year old girl had found the body, and after some more digging Sango had discovered that girl was named Kanna (no last name was given, but in this day and age not knowing one's own last name was not very unusual) and lived with her older sister, who owned a jewely shop called The Corner Store at the intersection between Second St. and Roster Lane. What a disappointment! She'd just have to come back in the morning. Sango made a note of the surroundings and the part of the shop she could see through the glass before going home for the night.

It had been a long day for everyone.

…

_Whew! What a chapter! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up this length a little longer, though my chapters tend to be longer at the end and at the beginning and shorter in the middle._

_**Ro-Roar.**_

_I quite agree, Review Lion. _

_The Review Lion and I have come to the conclusion that since this is such a long chapter, with (in our opinion) some great little stories (namely Shippo, The Brave Knight Who Battles The Dread Dragon Kaede And Breaks Her Chair) a bit of back story (Sota) __**two**__ twists (Sango being a cop and then Kanna being the one to find the body, oh me oh my and it's only chapter two!) and a hint for the next chapter (can you find the hint?), yes, since it was such a great chapter, you should __**definitely**__ review or face the consequences._

_For those who don't know, the Review Lion has been known, if she doesn't find my work satisfactory, to let people off the hook. But not this time!_

_So review, review, REVIEW! _

_And did anyone catch the hint for the next chapter? _

_(Wriggles eyebrows suggestively)_

_I'll give you a hint for the hint. I didn't suggest, or make an innuendo or an indication. I just came right out and said it, put it right in front of you. And that's the best disguise of all, isn't it?_

_(Insert evil grin here)_

_TTFN, ta ta for now!_

_Sincerely_

_Pwalefriend_


	3. Dead Girl Earrings

_**A special thank you to…**_

_**()…readingwriting wench…duckies rox my sox…fishie… Watching Eternity… bdrake07…**_

…

_**IMPORTANT NOTE!**_

_**Just so that there's no confusion, Miroku and Kagome are NOT a couple, they're just really good friends. Sango just thinks that they're a couple because when she first sees them they're sitting close to one another and having a good time. That's IT. Neither Kagome or Miroku have a "significant other" at this point in the story.**_

…

_Disclaimer:_

_Pwale: Okay! Mr. X! You go around that side!_

_Al: Pwale I've got the left side!_

_Jenny: WHY THE F**K HASN'T IT GONE AWAY YET?_

_Pwale: Well, I still haven't any idea what to do for the disclaimers._

_Inuysasha: Get an idea you witch! I'm sick of roping this hippo up like a spider!_

_Koga: (Koga's finally cracked, by the way) Evil evil evil evil evil evil evil evil evil everywhere I look I see evil evil evil evil evil._

_(Koga starts to do the pretty little dance he made up to go with what he's saying)_

_SUDDENLY! Out of nowhere an old tiger that hops on it's two front legs falls from the green and yellow sky and eats the Disclaimer Hippo in one huge gulp, thus forever becoming The Hungry Hopping Disclaimer Tiger. _

_The Hungry Hopping Disclaimer Tiger (burping): We don't own the characters._

_Pwale: Eh heh heh…He was in a dream I had last night!_

_Everyone else: Pwale…It's…Time to __**die**__._

…

_**The Corner Store**_

_**Dead Girl Earrings**_

_By Pwalefriend_

…

Shippo was fast asleep and having a very strange dream indeed. His father had come home, and it turned out that Sota had been working for an evil scientist who intended to turn everyone's arms into chicken wings. When Sota had tried to hug Shippo with the chicken wings Shippo had screamed and run away, but before he could go far Kaede (who had scales and a really big tail) stopped him and told him to stop being silly and go wash up for dinner. So Shippo had to walk all the way to the sink in the Reference Section at the library (by himself, and he was feeling very lonely for some reason), because that was the only sink left in the entire world, because Kaede had eaten the rest of them. When he got to the sink there was a princess there who was trying to sell her earrings to Kagome. Kagome kept shaking her head and saying-

"You keep them. You'll need them. You can't breathe without them."

And the princess would reply-

"Take them. Take them. Take them. Take them."

"I'll take them!" Shippo spoke up, raising his hand. Kagome sighed and shook her head.

"Oh, Shippo." She said. "You _know_ you're allergic to clouds." But it was too late and the princess was fastening her earrings to Shippo's ears. The pain when she stuck the metal bits through his ear lobe was _excruciating_, but it was nothing compared to the feeling of suffocation he felt when they were on.

"Oh, _jubilation_." The princess sighed. "_Imagination_." And with these words Shippo was lifted up in the air and he started to vibrate. He couldn't breathe! The air was suffocating him! It was too heavy! He began to claw at his throat and the princess faded from sight.

"Don't forget soap!" Kagome called as she left the library. "Shippo! Shippo! Shippo! It's time to get up! Shippo! Can you here me?"

Shippo's eyes flew open and he found himself staring into Kagome's concerned orbs.

"Eep." He said. "Weird dream."

And so…_the day began_.

…

When Sango pushed the door of The Corner Store open a little past twelve she was met with the sound of jingling bells and merry giggles. Looking in surprise towards the counter she saw two shop employees (a man and a young woman) laughing as they flipped through some magazine or another. Sango smiled to herself. What a cute couple. It was so nice to see young love these days.

As adorable as it was, however, she did have to interrupt. Police business and all that, y'know.

"_A-hem._" Sango coughed politely into her hand, approaching the pair. They were startled and jumped before looking up at her in mild alarm. "Please," Sango said with a smile. "Stay seated, and don't be alarmed. I'm just here to ask you a few questions."

Immediately they both began to panic, their faces went white and their hands found one another and their eyes started to dart between Sango and the door and an unoccupied stool nearby. Clearly they were thinking-

_If I throw that stool __**really hard**__ and __**really fast**__ and he (or she) runs that way, maybe we can get away before the scary lady can nab us for whatever it is we did!_

Dear reader, Sango had never really questioned anyone before, and as such didn't actually know that the phrases "don't be alarmed" and "just a few questions" _by themselves_ can throw a perfectly sane and law abiding citizen into hysterics. The combination of such phrases ought to be outlawed as a form of police brutality.

"What do you know about a mysterious series of robberies?" Sango asked.

Miroku and Kagome shared a long, confused look. _Hadn't Kagura said that the cops weren't talking about those robberies yet? Were they the same robberies?_ In the end it was Kagome who spoke up.

"We don't know anything about any robberies, miss." She said. "Erm, may I ask-"

"Detective Sango." Sango said, not bothering to take out any form of ID. In the day and age where this story takes place, dear reader, whether the person is really a cop or not doesn't matter all that much. What matters is whether or not they had that big heavy beating stick that comes with the job. As it would just so happen, Sango had looped hers through her belt. For decorational purposes only, you understand. Of course. "City Police."

There was a moment of awkward silence before Miroku smiled.

"City Police, huh?" He said, his grin getting wider in that way grins do when the person doing the grinning thinks that they're about to make a funny joke. "How'd-_Ow_!"

Kagome had stomped down on Miroku's foot. _Hard_.

"May we help you, officer?" Kagome said, taking serious note of Sango's beating club.

"Tell me about the robberies." Sango said. Kagome shrugged.

"I don't know about any robberies, officer." Kagome said.

"Come now, girl. It's just between you and me. No one needs know what you've told me." Sango tried to imitate the tone of some of the more advanced officers.

"What about me?" Miroku pointed out. "Oh! Do you have a magic-_OW!_ Kagome, _knock that off_!"

Kagome had, naturally, stomped on Miroku's foot again.

"We don't know about any robberies, officer." Kagome said firmly and she stared Sango straight in the eye. Sango frowned. She _hated_ it when civilians didn't cooperate. It was so _annoying_.

"Is your manager here?" She asked.

"_I'm_ their manager." Came a cool and collected voice from the other side of the room. All three looked over to see Kagura letting herself in through the back door. She was giving Sango a _look_. "Is there a problem here, _officer_?" Kagura was one of the only people who could say the word _officer_ like most people say _you dirt-eating fucking little bitch, I bet you're not so cocky now, huh?_ Sango resisted the urge to step back, who wouldn't be intimidated by a tone like that?

"I'm here to ask a few questions about some robberies." Sango said. A slightly nervous look flashed across Kagura's face and was gone in an instant. She straightened and crossed her arms.

"I was led to believe that this information wasn't available to the public." Kagura said coldly. Kagome and Miroku almost felt bad for the cop, well…they would have if the cop hadn't been a cop. Cops and evil murderers were really the only people who deserved that tone of voice.

Now, dear reader, at this point you're probably wondering at the animosity dear Officer Sango is receiving. Well, consider this.

You're living in a society where there's the rich, and there's the poor. You are not the rich, not by a long shot. You're surrounded by the rich everyday, however, because you work in a well-to-do shop. You practically_ court_ them, you_ woo_ them, just to scrap a living that you can barely survive off and you live in a boarding home, one of the filthiest and most unhygienic housing in this day and age.

And who is it maintaining this system? It's the cops. Who else? And it's not like any of them are rich, either. They're the poor, working for the rich, and being paid by the poor through tax money. _Not to mention_ that the cops can be _relied_ on to rough up anyone who they think is "disturbing the peace."

Now, there had been rumors lately of this new-fangled thing called a "good cop" but who knew if these magical beings actually existed. General consensus was that they were like the Tooth Faerie, something to tell children so that the night won't seem as scary.

Sango blinked.

"Not available for the public…" she repeated. "…_Damn_."

…Maybe they did exist after all.

Kagura shook her head.

"You don't want me anyway, officer." She said. "You want Kanna. Kanna!"

Kanna, hearing her sister, tapped the glass of the shop window. She was standing on the sidewalk with a green jump-rope that Miroku and Kagome had both gotten her for her birthday the year Kagura had hired them and before they knew Kanna very well. A friend of Sota's did woodwork and Kanna's name was engraved in each handle.

Kanna only used the gift when she was making an effort to appear normal. Usually she despised physical exertion of any kind and viewed it as a ridiculous activity to amuse the masses.

"Go out to lunch with the person!" Kagura shouted. Kanna nodded and disappeared; presumably to go around back in order to change or eat a teddy bear or whatever it was Kanna did to get ready for lunch.

"What-" Sango gasped. "No! I mean, I just want to ask-"

"Some questions, right?" Kagura finished. "Well my sister needs lunch, and you need my sister, so the lunch may as well come out of your pocket instead of mine. You'll also be paying for my employees as well, since it's time for their lunch break."

"_What_?" Kagome and Miroku rose as one body. They didn't want to spend time with a cop _and _Kanna! That wasa_ horrible_ thought!

"It's not lunch break for another hour and a-" Miroku began before Kagura turned the full force of her glare on him.

"_It's time for lunch, Miroku_." Kagura hissed. Miroku paled.

"Quite right." He said. "Very true. On second thought, we should have left five minutes ago. Quite. I must have…misread the time." There wasn't a clock in the store.

Within a matter of moments they had all left for lunch, leaving Kagura alone as she thought-

_Well…that's that._

…

Kanna flipped through the menu, looking at the items lazily and pretending not to notice how all her adult companions were watching each other nervously. If they wanted to act like idiots, that was their problem, not hers.

"Erm…So, you two work at the store?" Sango asked, trying to make conversation. Kanna had made it very clear when they had sat down to lunch that 1. They were to talk among themselves. 2. They were not to disturb her. 3. No one could do anything until she had ordered.

"Yes officer." Said Kagome.

"Do you like the job?"

"Yes officer."

"You really don't need to call me officer."

"You're on duty officer?"

"Well, no, not actually…"

Kagome and Miroku shared a glance. That was suspicious, that was. An officer doing work off-duty. That meant something was going on.

"I will have a…salad." Kanna said. When no one responded Kanna looked up and glared around. "I just made my order." Kanna sniffed haughtily. "Where is the waiter? They're supposed to ask me what I want to drink."

All the grown ups inwardly groaned. Why oh why did it have to turn out like this? They were miserable, uncomfortable and Kanna was being difficult.

What hell.

_Well,_ Miroku thought. _At least this policewoman is beautiful._

"Stop that." Kagome hissed.

"Stop what?"

"You know what I mean. Stop thinking about _things_."

"Excuse me?" Sango interrupted. "What things is he talking about?"

"Unimportant things." Kanna said. "Officer, while we wait for this restaurant to show some competence, I believe you had some questions for me."

"Ah…Yes…Erm…It's about the last time, you know…"

There was a long pause.

"What last-" Miroku began to ask, before Kagome kicked his leg again.

Kanna turned her head and stared blankly out the window.

"I assume you are referring to the incident I was involved in when I was little. Well, I'll tell you. It was terrible. At night I sometimes wake up, shaking and crying and screaming, and the poor…the poor woman is always there, accusing me. _Blaming_ me." Kanna monologue.

Kagome and Miroku were both baffled; they were trying to imagine Kanna _ever_ being in such a hysterical state. But Sango just nodded and adopted a concerned face.

"Oh, that's to be expected." Sango said. "You were just the littlest child then, take your time in telling me. We can stop whenever you feel that you can't go on."

Kanna gave a little sniffle. "Thank you." She said. "Your kind words mean so much to me, I just can't tell you how healing it is to hear them."

"That's quite all right, sweetie." Sango said.

"I was the one who found the body." Kanna said.

_Body? What body? Oh wait…wasn't something mentioned earlier about there only being one death? Could that be the body? I'm sure that this is related to the jewelry thefts that Kagura told us about yesterday. So then…Kanna was the one who found the body of the only person who died? She said a woman…so it must have been a woman. _Kagome was thinking a mile a minute. Faster even.

"It wasn't quite clear to me afterwards what she had died of. Sometimes I think she was strangled. Sometimes I think that she drowned. Sometimes…oh there's always so much blood! Blood! _Blood_!"

"Excuse me!" Snapped a passing waiter. "But if you can't keep it down I'm going to have to ask you to leave!"

"Sorry." Kanna told them. "I'll keep it down. _That is I would if I could get a damn waiter! I'm a little girl suffering from trauma! Show some respect you swine!_"

It should probably be mentioned that Kanna had a knack for looking vulnerable when she abused waiters. Somehow no one ever kicked her out of a restaurant. Instead they took her order _really fast_ and never seemed to be around to refill the glasses.

"Now." Kanna said after her salad had come. "May I see a description of the pieces that have gone missing?"

"Huh?" Sango said. She had the vague feeling that she had somehow been duped.

"The stolen jewelry officer! Now!"

"Right! Yes! Here they are!" Sango handed over a catalogue of the stolen pieces. Kagome and Miroku watched with pity, they knew all too well the feeling one had when Kanna was stringing you along for the ride. In fact, they knew it so well that they were staying as quiet and unobtrusive as they could get, lest Kanna notice them again.

"None of these pieces are original." Kanna said after a little while.

"What?" Sango asked. "How can you tell?" Kanna pointed at a pair of earrings.

"Wasn't that one of the pieces that was stolen last time?"

"How do you remember stuff like that?" Miroku asked, forgetting himself. Kanna looked at him for a moment, and then nodded at Kagome who kicked Miroku. Hard.

"I certainly didn't spend last night researching the stolen pieces, if that's what you mean!" Kanna sniffed haughtily.

_Ah. _Everyone else thought. _So…she actually __**does**__ do things at night…I thought that she just turned into a bat and slept upside down._

Lunch was a disaster.

After leaving the restaurant Sango pulled Kagome aside into a doorway. A cat who was already there looked at them and hissed before stalking off with it's tail erect and indignant.

"What do you think?" Sango asked Kagome. Kagome looked at the officer, startled.

"Pardon?" Kagome asked, brushing Sango's hand off her sleeve. "What do I think about what, officer?"

"About what that girl said. You know her better then I do. You tell me."

Kagome gave Sango a long look, up and down up and down.

"Honestly, officer?"

"Yes," Sango nodded. "Please tell me honestly."

"Should I also do it frankly, officer?" Kagome said.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Sango wondered.

"Not really, officer."

"Alright then, tell me what you think honestly, frankly and whatever other adjective you come up with next."

"Honestly and frankly officer, I think you're taking the piss." Kagome said. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to get back to work. Good day to you." Kagome ran from the doorway and down the dirty slushy street. Sango stood there and gaped.

The next day the shop closed two hours early because Kagura felt they all deserved a little rest. Or so she said. Shippo had come again to pick Kagome up and Miroku was hurrying home to tidy up his room because earlier that morning Kaede had sprung the news onto Miroku that he was getting a roommate. When Miroku had argued Kaede had slapped him round the head and told him that he was more trouble then he was worth and either he was getting a roommate-a _male _roommate, no hanky-panky like that in _her _boarding house-or he was going out on the street by his ear. Miroku really hadn't had much of a choice. But Kagome had other plans.

She was going to the library.

…

Shippo ran ahead of Kagome as the two of them walked to the city library. Kagome wasn't that much of a library-goer, to be honest it wasn't that she didn't like reading or books or libraries it was just that she never seemed to find the time. Shippo on the other hand liked to go as often as possible. It made him feel important to wander alone through the tall silent shelves of the city library. He was an adventurer or a magician or a ghost or a murderer or a thief or a scholar (the exciting kind, with ink stains on his sleeves who read books about magic and fought demons that escaped from paper and word cages, not the boring kind with glasses and nicotine-stained beards and funny breathe that you saw at second-hand pawn shops) or a treasure hunter. There were all sorts of things you could be in the forgotten parts of the library where it is very quiet and very old, where old books wait to be read, where you forget to read the titles because the books in the back are the sort of books that either call to you or don't. The back of the library was Shippo's favorite part. But the children's section was always worth a visit first. You could get wonderful ideas of what to pretend to be in the children's section of the library.

Shippo caught sight of the two lions that guarded the steps to the library and, with and excited shout, he ran towards it. Kagome, behind him, shook her head and wondered if it was odd to have a four-year-old who enjoyed the unfriendly-to-children city library as much as Shippo did. Normally she would have gone off to the fiction section to find a book for herself and then spent the next half-hour desperately searching the library for her nephew, but today she was there on business and so she went straight to the reference desk.

"Good afternoon, miss." Said the librarian who sat behind the desk. "How may I help you?"

"I was wondering if you had an…an…a book-that-talks-about-stuff-really-concisely…Erm…Are there books like that?" Kagome fumbled. Now that she thought about it she didn't know if anything she wanted really existed. Kagome had never gone to university, or really anything other then basic school. She knew her letters well, and she could write lovely, and she knew a bit about math. She'd never really got around to science or magic, but that was really beyond the level available to her anyway. Exactly what was contained in the reference section was a question that to Kagome mattered about as much the moon was made of did. As long as it stayed put and didn't bother her or hers at all, what did it really matter? But now it did matter and she was at a loss. "Really big?" She went on. "All about one subject, but a little bit about a lot of that subject? Like…a bunch of different _bits_ of that subject…and all about it, like. Like, and folk-lore and known facts and examples, but _lots_ of it…Erm…Like an…an…"

"An encyclopedia?" Said the librarian scathingly. "Is there any particular subject you're looking for?"

"Erm…jewelry?" Kagome said sheepishly. The librarian gave the young woman another scathing look and went to go retrieve the appropriate book behind a closed door. Kagome was left there, standing goofily in the aisle. She'd never been to the reference section before. She didn't know how it worked. Was she supposed to follow? She looked at the other desk and saw another library-goer standing there, filling out some sort of paper work, while a librarian came back to that desk with several books. Was she supposed to sign a form or complete a survey while she waited? But her librarian hadn't given her anything. Maybe her librarian had already assumed she knew! Maybe she was supposed to bring something with her! Would she get in trouble because she hadn't? Maybe this had been a very bad idea. After all, you couldn't trust people who _wanted_ to stay indoors all day like this, among all these old and whispering books full of the words of dead men and woman! It was spooky and unnatural! Should she grab Shippo and make a run for it?

Kagome was working herself up into a very good panic when the librarian finally came back and handed Kagome a slim volume.

"This is an encyclopedia of famous and rare pieces, stones and designs. It's all explained in the index and the introduction." Said the woman coldly. In her most humble opinion people who didn't already understand the workings of the reference section oughtn't be allowed anywhere near it. "As this is an _important_ book, you may _not_ take it out of the library. You _may_ read it over there," the librarian pointed to a nearby chair and writing desk, "where I can _see_ you. Do you understand _clearly_?" Kagome resisted the urge to cower, but she did shift nervously and looked down at her feet.

"Yes'm." Kagome mumbled.

"_What did you say? I can't hear you._" Spat the librarian.

"Yes'm." Kagome mumbled a little louder.

"Well? Are you just going to _stand_ there, hogging the space?" Demanded the librarian nastily.

"No'm." Kagome muttered.

"Then _move_." The librarian snapped. Kagome fled to the chair she had been assigned, relieved to be away. It was a given that anyone who spent so much time around so many books as a librarian would be at least a _little_ bit superior, because of all the magic that books had, but the librarians that Kagome usually had contact with (the ones in the children's section and the woman who checked out fiction next door and the nice young man who took care of the place and helped her find Shippo when he was particularly lost) weren't anywhere _near_ as terrifyingly arrogant and superior. The reference librarian made Kagome feel so common that it didn't even occur to her to resent it and it took Kagome a moment to remember how to read or, indeed, what you did with a book at all. Kagome sat down and made herself as small as possible in the chair and opened to front cover of her book, reminding herself not to look up to check if the reference librarian was watching her, because if she did the librarian would probably put a curse on her or something awful like that.

_Welcome indeed, loveliest reader, to the wonderful and exciting world that is the accessories of our most glorious-_ began the book. Kagome slowly struggled through the almost deliriously perky introduction though she had to get up once in a while to look up words like "sublime" (she was sure it didn't mean underground citrus) and "nonpareil" (was that E _supposed_ to be there? It just didn't look right to _her_), but she eventually got to the substance of the book. Or at least the index. Kagome, remembering the names of the pieces that had been stolen from her earlier luncheon, saw one of the names and looked it up. She read the entry, frowned and then looked up another piece. And another and another and another.

Kagome got up, took a piece of paper and a pencil out of her pocket and wrote the title of the book (_Magister Twist's Accessories and Jewelry Galore! *Save 50% Buy Now Get One Copy Free*_) and went to go find the nice young man. She really didn't have time to find Shippo buy herself tonight. She had to go and consult Miroku. Right _now_.

The first piece that had been stolen was an ancient necklace that had actually been taken from a museum. People are always stealing things from museum, and everything from a museum is already stolen anyway (after all, if you let things stay in the hands of their rightful owners, what would you do with all these pretty glass boxes? Whole wars have started because of people stealing things and being put in museums, but the buildings are fancy so it's all perfectly legal, see) and so no one had thought anything of it. The necklace had been discovered in a dig out east, in a burial mound dedicated to some crow god. It had been stolen from the mound by the archeologists (actually, the one who did the actual stealing had "anthropologist" on his business card and was, in all truth and honesty, a plumber), stolen by the townspeople and then stolen back by the archeologists. Then the archeologist/anthropologist/plumber had stolen the necklace again and taken off with it in hopes of selling it. But his friend, the world-famous Dr. Shvetsky (the murderer/painter/explorer/trapper/carriage-builder/nanny, though some people claim that all these professions mean the same thing) was waiting for the plumber not far off and Dr. Shvetsky murdered the man and sold the necklace to a nearby museum.

There were earrings that had been buried in the tomb of an eight-year-old princess-turned-goddess. The princess had still been alive when they'd buried her, which is why she turned into a goddess. Everyone knows that slowly and painfully suffering at such a young age instantly makes you of celestial stock. Well, everyone who goes to that sort of funeral does, anyway. Gives a whole new meaning to the word "wake" they say.

And again and again and again. Each stolen piece had a history of violence. Each stolen piece had been dug up from an offering or a burial of magical inclination. Each stolen piece had been in the book that the librarian had given Kagome.

Actually, they were the _only_ pieces in the book.

…

_Pwale hold up hands in defense._

"_I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Ye gods I'm sorry! It's been so long, I know, and I leave you with an ending like __**that**__? What the __**hell**__ is wrong with me? __**And**__ I haven't even brought Inuyasha in yet! I must be some sick and twisted bastard, mustn't I? Please bare with me!"_

_The Review Lion is too disgusted to comment. _

_Anyway, Inuyasha comes next chapter, so stick around, hopefully it won't be too long before the next chapter comes. Well…At least this was a really long chapter! _

_Once again, I'm really really really sorry! I'll try my hardest to do better from now on! _

_Sincerely_

_Pwalefriend_


	4. Scratched Glass

_**A special thank you to:**_

_**My loveliest Fishie.**_

_Disclaimer:_

_Hungry Hopping Disclaimer Tiger: We don't own the characters._

_Pwale: Wasn't that a little quick?_

_Mr. X: Pwale! Don't talk to it! GET RID OF IT!!! RIGHT NOW!!!_

_Pwale: Aww, do I have to?_

_Everyone: Yes!_

_Pwale: But don't you think it looks so cuuuuute?_

_Everyone: No!_

_Pwale: Really? I do. Coochie-coochie-coo!_

_Everyone: PWALE! RIGHT! NOW!_

…

_**The Corner Store **_

_Chapter 4_

**Scratched Glass**

By Pwalefriend

…

"Kagome!" Shippo complained. "Don't pull so hard! You're hurting me. Why do we have to go so fast anyways?"

"Just come on Shippo." Kagome said. She was spooked after reading that book and wasn't quite in her right mind. She was running back to her apartment and Miroku and Kaede with Shippo near flying behind her. Kagome didn't know that the parts of a person's body made commentary through out their life. Even if she had known she probably wouldn't have been able to hear them. And even then she probably would have just thought she was going crazy because everyone knows that your appendages can't talk by themselves. But if she could have heard them she would have heard her right hand wondering what was so terrible about all this and it really wasn't any need to get so scared just because some pieces of jewelry were, apparently, cursed and there was some book about them. Just a bunch of coincidences, really. Normally Kagome's left foot would have had some reply for this but Kagome was running so hard that all the left foot could say was _…oof….oof…ooff…ack!_

_Not fast enough_! Thought Kagome and she swung Shippo up under her arm and barreled the last street. She saw before her the warm and inviting half-open door that led to Kaede's kitchen and she knew she was nearly there-she was going to make it! Kagome took a running dive and slid into the house. A perfect ten! The crowd went wild!

Oops, sorry, wrong universe. What actually happened was Shippo started screaming because he got a little squashed and the dive had scraped his knee and now he and Kagome were soaking wet from the snow and Kagome had bumped her head on the leg of the chair that Miroku had been sitting in. Miroku, Kaede, and Sango (who was in the kitchen and had a steaming cup of tea raised to her lips) stared at Kagome. Miraculously the girl wasn't out of breath. That was probably the only part that carried over from that other universe where the crowd went wild.

"Oh my gods, Shippo are you alright?" Kagome leaned over her nephew. "I'm so sorry-I didn't realize-"

"Kagome?" Miroku questioned and he leaned down next to his friend. "Where's the fire?"

Kagome looked at Miroku and blushed a little.

"Oh…No…" She said. "You'll think I'm silly…I just got a little scared is all, I'm-" Kagome blinked as she noticed the other inhabitants of the kitchen. "What's _she_ doing here?" Kagome demanded rudely and pointed at Sango, who raised a single eyebrow.

"I'm having dinner." Sango said. Kagome looked at her blankly for a moment before gasping and putting her outstretched hand over her mouth.

"Oh!" Kagome stammered. She was definitely flustered now. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be so rude. I just-"

"Get a hold of yourself, Kagome." Kaede commanded. "Or get out of my kitchen. You know my rule. No hysterics near the cutlery."

"Sorry Kaede." Kagome said sheepishly. "I'm so sorry, Shippo."

When everything had been straightened out and Kagome had properly calmed down (just a bit scared of the dark, she had laughed it off as, felt a bit like someone was following me or something, silly as that may sound) and Kaede sat them down for dinner.

"The new tenant will be joining us soon." Said Kaede.

"New tenant?" Shippo and Sango asked at the same time. Shippo blushed shyly and Sango smiled at little awkwardly at him.

"My new roommate." Miroku said. "I've been having a bit of trouble…keeping up with the rent lately, so Kaede put him in with me."

Kagome gave Miroku a very long look. Kagura paid them both reasonably and Kaede's rooms were fairly cheap and Miroku didn't spend much on food or clothes or anything like that. She and Shippo were doing just fine with the rent, so where did the money…on second thought, she amended hastily as her imagination supplied some all-too-likely destinations for Miroku's money, I probably don't want to know. At least not with Shippo in the room.

"Well, before he comes," she said. "Look what I've found." And she showed them her list. "All the pieces that have been stolen so far I found in this book."

Sango and Miroku leaned over her list and checked it with the one that Sango had. Things did, indeed, match up.

Shippo didn't pay attention to the adults. Kaede was taking dinner out of the oven so he had much more important things that concerned his stomach to heed.

"That's not all." Miroku said. "Wait till you hear what Sango's got to tell you."

"What is it, officer?" Kagome said. She still wasn't sure what she felt on Sango. After all Sango was a _cop_. There was no two ways to look about it and Kagome had been raised properly. Never _ever_ trust a cop.

"The Corner Store's been robbed as well." Said Sango. "It was after everyone had left. I'm afraid that you and Miroku here are the prime suspects, or _would_ be if evidence hadn't been what it is."

"Huh?" Kagome was baffled. "We've been _robbed_? Why? What? When? _How_?"

"Apparently," Miroku said and he wondered again at Sango being so bad with words and explanations. "Kanna left her teddy bear at the shop so she and Kagura went to get it. They found that the back door had been forced open and one of the recent deliveries has been taken."

"So was it the same thief?" Kagome asked. She was dipping her finger in her water cup (Kaede had given her water, saying there wasn't any lemonade left and Kagome wasn't getting any of the wine that the other adults had after _that_ display. Kagome didn't like Kaede's wine anyway) and making designs on the table. It needed a sanding, she idly thought.

"Or thieves." Said Sango. "It always pays to keep an open mind."

"Yes, or thieves." Kagome agreed, not even noticing that she had failed to be respectfully frigid towards the policewoman. Sango noticed and smiled a little. Sango really was a rookie; she hadn't yet realized that cops should _never_ get along with anyone involved in a case. It might make you appear human.

This may appear unfair towards police. However, Sango had been trained in a city that is fairly normal where police aren't designed to molest the general public welfare, she'd been taught the radical new theory that she was supposed to solve crime and not avoid it.

And even though her friendly and kind tactics differed from the norm of Dalune policing, and even though to many she may appear to be favorable, she was still blowing it. Sango hadn't a speck of professionalism in her and no one had realized it yet.

"Unlike the other robberies though there were even more signs of struggle. The glass case, for example, that Kanna had locked the piece up in was scratched and the lock was broken. So this is different from the other robberies in that there were obvious signs of forced break-in."

Kagome considered this. So either this robbery was different or someone wanted it to _seem_ different. But…But…There was still something that bothered Kagome, something at the edge of her mind…something…something…what had Sango just said? Keep an open mind? That meant don't assume anything, right? Consider all the possibilities? Don't take anything for granted?

"…I wonder…" Kagome frowned and thought a bit harder.

"What?" Asked Miroku.

"Erm…_Is_ this the same case as the one we mentioned earlier?" Kagome asked. "The one Kanna was involved in?"

"Well…" Sango blinked. She hadn't thought of that. But then…Could it _possibly_ be the same case? Why had they thought that it was? "All the pieces that were recovered years ago are the ones that are being stolen now and under the same circumstances, but…" An idea occurred to Sango and Kagome's eyes widened as she had the same thought.

"But what if that's what we're just meant to think?" Kagome finished Sango's sentence for her. The two women looked at each other guardedly. They had started out with something; they had assumed that this was the same perpetrator as five years ago. But when you thought about it they didn't have any evidence of that, did they? Now they had nothing, just a series of coincidences.

How did you move forward? What were the questions you had to ask? Being a detective, Kagome had once read in a trashy mystery novel, was all about asking the right questions.

The novel had been total garbage, Kagome couldn't even remember what the cover had looked like let alone the title or the plot, but that one line had stuck in her mind because it sounded cool. Now that she was sticking her nose into the detecting business itself it sounded _right_. But, Kagome thought, maybe it wasn't? Maybe the thing that's more important then the questions is whom you're asking? Because if you have the wrong person but the right question you'll still end up with the wrong answer. But if you have the right person and the wrong question you'll probably have the right answer in the end because people _want_ to tell you the important things. They _want_ to share their secrets, they _want_ someone to know, they _want_ to know that what they've seen means something. And someone always sees something, even if they never know what it is that they've seen.

So what do we do now? Where are we supposed to go from here?

"No sense worrying over it at this time of night." Kaede interrupted briskly and she started putting bowls on the table. "Supper's ready, so eat and enjoy yourselves and worry about this serious business some other time, right." Shippo stood at attention while sitting in his seat and focused with all the telekinetic energy he could muster at the bowl of cream of broccoli that he knew would soon be his. Whether Shippo really was telekinetic or whether it was merely coincidence that his supper was the first bowl doled out might remain a mystery till the end of time.

"But these are very important-" Miroku started to protest when someone opened the door at the far end of the kitchen and came striding in. The people at the table watched him approach with varying sensations of dread.

The first thing you noticed when this person came into a room was that he (well, second thing you noticed then, the first thing was that the person was male) was _angry_. His face was a perpetual scowl; his shoulders had that slump adopted only by those who are eternally grumpy. He stomped rather then walked as if he wanted to make it perfectly clear to the ground that he wasn't having any of that nonsense with unevenness and tripping. He looked remarkably sturdy for someone who wasn't either fat or really short and outrageously muscled. He had long silver hair that was pulled back in a ponytail and his eyes were golden.

He came over.

"Hey mister!" Shippo piped. "How'd you get that thing?"

The man looked down at Shippo in a puzzled way as if he wasn't quite sure what the little boy was or why he was talking.

"Sit down, Inuyasha." Kaede commanded as she drew up a chair for her latest tenant. "What thing are you speaking of Shippo and don't be so rude."

"The eye thing." Shippo clarified, not realizing that his aunt, his aunt's friend and the weird lady with the really big stick were all exchanging looks of exasperation. Hoo boy, the looks seemed to say, I haven't seen one of _that type_ for a while. You remember _that type_? What a _pain_ they used to be when I was a kid!

Let me put it this way to you, dear reader. Picture a schoolyard. Miroku and Kagome are the type to be playing on the swings. Sango the type for the monkey bars. This new fellow, the new Inuyasha fellow, now _he's_ the type for the slide. He's not playing, you understand, he's sitting in the of the tube slide and waiting for the next kid to come down. He's got an evil grin on his face and a sharp stick in his hands.

Sango, Kagome and Miroku felt a natural immediate enmity to this poor newcomer. After all, when you got tired of the monkey bars (there's really only so many times you can swing back and forth) and when the swings had lost their appeal (sometimes you want to be in a group and the swings are more of a solitary thing) then the slide is always fun. Kagome especially would have tended to be the kid Inuyasha got with that stick of his.

It might have surprised them to know that, if Inuyasha had ever spent a lot of time on playgrounds as a child, he wouldn't have gotten into the tube slide at all. He was actually the type who liked to climb down the top of the slide and get into trouble with the adults.

"What eye thing Shippo?" Kagome asked though she knew perfectly well what eye thing. Inuyasha was starting to pick up that the small person was being very rude. He glared.

"Yes, midget, what eye thing?" He growled.

There was silence in the kitchen. It filled the space from wall to wall and numerous kitchen implements began to sweat and wonder if they could sidle out in time before the wretched fight broke out. They all knew that the stove in particular was a delicate sort and hated to see the Living quarrel. Maybe if pantry sort of broke it's own back and the knives forced the door to cooperate the smaller things could get out through the pantry and the counter could shove the stove through the-

"_Excuse me, sir_." Kagome spat out. She stood up and put her hand on Shippo's shoulder. Shippo was shocked. He didn't spend much time around other people and an adult had never been mean to him before. Shippo held back a little sniffle. He'd just been _concerned_. Didn't yellow eyes mean something had gone wrong with you vision? Like blindness only not blind?

"Kagome, sit." Miroku said. "Let me handle this."

"Pardon?" Inuyasha snapped. "This is a fine way to greet someone! What's wrong with your eyes _indeed_."

"_This boy is a child and should not be held accountable for his curiosity_." Kagome hissed. There was something about this person that reminded her of small dark places and sharp uncomfortable pointy objects. And now he was being mean to her beloved nephew? _Oh_ she thought _not_.

"Sit down, Inuyasha." Kaede sighed. "Sit down Kagome." She looked at Miroku. "And Miroku, I'm not sure what you intend to do with the broken leg of my chair and my pot holder, but put them both back where you found them anyway."

"What should I do?" Sango asked. Kaede gave her a funny look.

"What do you mean, girl?" Kaede asked. "You didn't move."

"Yes, but I was planning to bop them if they resorted to violence."

"You shouldn't do that." Miroku pointed out as he put Kaede's potholder back on the table next to the pot of soup and leaned her broken chair leg back against the wall. "You're off duty."

"Still." Sango said. "What if seeing something put me back on duty?"

"You're only back on duty if you're being paid." Miroku the workingman said.

"For a normal job, yeah, but not for policing."

"Isn't policing a normal job?"

"What?"

"Are you saying that your job is weird?"

"No, of course-"

"I'd sure say it was weird."

"Have you ever tried it then?"

And so it went. Kagome eased back down into her chair and Shippo focused on the most important matter of all, food. Inuyasha glared angrily at all but Kaede's soup was the only food he was getting and he knew it. Besides, he was going to have to live with these people.

Not that it meant anything was going to affect his opinion of them now, but it wouldn't do to hurt any of them, would it? And that woman was a cop.

When had Dalune started hiring female cops? Last Inuyasha had known they were very emphatic about _not_ hiring the "fairer sex" as they put it.

_Ah well._ Inuyasha thought. _Things have certainly changed since then, eh?_

Later that night, after dinner had ended and Sango had left with a promise to visit soon and Miroku and Kagome were saying goodnight in the hall (Inuyasha and Shippo had already gone to bed).

"Do you think he heard anything?" Kagome whispered. Miroku shrugged.

"I don't know." He whispered back. "Who knows how long he was standing outside that door. He could have heard all of it or nothing at all."

"Yeah…" Kagome hesitated. She was still very worried about this new tenant. But even if he did hear it, so what? It was rather unlikely that the thief had actually moved into her boarding house. That would just be silly. Things like that only happened in books. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Miroku rubbed Kagome's arm.

"Don't worry Kagome." Miroku said. "Just because I now have a roommate doesn't mean that I will ever allow us to be parted. Just say the word and I'll kick Inuyasha out for a night, I'm sure that he, as a man, will understand the need for privacy when acts of pleasure are-"

"Shut up Miroku." Kagome said and she elbowed him in the liver. He doubled over in pain. "And good night. You really shouldn't bother with all that if your heart isn't in it, y'know."

"I assure you, love, my heart-"

"No it wasn't." Kagome shook her head. "You were rambling. You're much better at innuendoes and suggestions normally. That was terrible. Night." Miroku shrugged. She wasn't wrong.

"G'night." He said, and so they parted.

…

"Lunch break, you two." Kagura told Kagome and Miroku the next day. "Get out."

"Isn't it still a little early for a lunch break?" Miroku asked. Kagura shrugged angrily.

"Who cares." She snapped. "Somehow news of the robbery got out and no one's coming anyway. I'm in a bad mood, so the two of you get out of my sigh before a fire you."

Seeing as how Kagura was in such a bad mood she might actually carry out the threat Kagome and Miroku grabbed their coats and fled the store before anymore could be said on the subject.

Kagura was right too, though, and it bothered Kagome as well. No customers had showed up all day and that had never happened before. They were a _good _store. They had enough expensive items to be fancy and enough cheaper rings and bracelets for well-to-do gaggles of schoolgirls to come in and spend pocket money. They had never before had a morning without even a single customer. Then again they'd never been robbed before either.

"I'm not very hungry." Kagome told Miroku as they walked down the street. Her friend shook his head.

"Neither am I." He said.

"I've got a letter for Ayumi in my bag." Kagome told him. "Let's go to the post office to mail it."

"Sounds good." Miroku said. "How is Ayumi anyway?"

"Expecting, actually."

"No!"

"Yes, third month I think."

"Wow. Time does fly. Remember that time she came home from her aunt's and swore she'd never have children in her entire life?"

"Well, those cousins of hers are wretched."

"Yes, but look at her now. No less then three kids and only twenty-five!"

"Five kids, actually. This baby will be her sixth."

"Pull the other one!"

"No, it's true. And one miscarriage."

"Oh, poor thing. What's her husbands name again?"

"You know, I've quite forgotten. Did it start with an E?"

"No, I'm sure it begins with S."

"S? Really?"

"I think so…"

"No, I think it's an E."

And so the conversation went, meaningless chitchat about old friends and their spouses (they finally remembered that Ayumi's husbands last name was Wellingport, but that's as far as they got) and it wasn't long before they were just a few blocks away from the nearest post office and rounding the corner.

BANG

Kagome looked up in surprise and for a moment wondered why Miroku looked so tall all of a sudden and why her bum was hurting. Then she realized that while rounding the corner she must had walked straight into someone! She looked over her knees when she heard a groan and found herself staring straight at Inuyasha, who was picking himself up off the sidewalk.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku exclaimed, surprised. He had gotten to know his new roommate a little better last night and didn't have the strong feelings of enmity towards him that Kagome had. "Fancy running into you here!"

"Shut up Miroku." Inuyasha and Kagome grumbled in unison. The two of them started and glanced at each other, unnerved by the coincidence. Kagome glared and Inuyasha gave her a little puzzled look, wondering why the angry little woman obviously disliked him so. They'd only met once. Inuyasha offered her his hand and Kagome considered shoving the hand aside and getting up on her own, but that would be rude and silly and she had fallen awkwardly on her leg so trying to rise on her own would probably end up being an embarrassing ordeal that would only result in her making a total spectacle of herself. So she took his hand and let him pull her up.

"You ought to be more careful." Inuyasha informed Kagome sternly when she was on her own two feet again. "You should watch where you're going instead of just walking into people all the time." He wiped the hand he had used to help her with on the back of his pants and Kagome's temper flared a little further.

"I certainly don't intend to make a habit of it." She said stiffly. She then looked at Miroku and pointedly didn't thank Inuyasha for his help. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. _What an annoying little chit_. He thought.

"Are you all right Kagome?" Miroku asked.

"Yes, Miroku, I'm fine. Thanks." Kagome assured him.

"Inuyasha," Miroku turned to his roommate. "We were just on our way to the post office to drop off a letter, would you like to come with us?"

_Oh please say no please say no please say no_. Kagome begged with her eyes shut.

"Sure." Inuyasha said with a shrug. He was going in that direction anyway.

"What are you doing in the area?" Miroku asked him as they headed at. He was beginning to regret asking Inuyasha to come because Kagome had now gone a stony silent and Miroku knew, he just _knew_, that if Inuyasha hadn't actually been with them Kagome would have been vehemently complaining about the man's attitude. Miroku hadn't actually expected Inuyasha to _agree_ to come with them!

"I was looking for a job." Inuyasha told him. Kagome looked up.

"You're unemployed?" Kagome asked. She felt a little bit like a cat jumping on a fat juicy mouse.

"Not as such, no. But the job I do have isn't full-time and it's very complicated to explain." Inuyasha said coldly.

Kagome would have pressed further, she was curious and she wondered how he could afford the rent if he didn't have a steady job, but something in his tone irked her further and so she stayed silent after that as Miroku awkwardly tried to make a conversation with at least one of the pair. _After all_, Kagome thought huffily, _he probably only sounded like that because he wants me to ask! Well, I shan't give him the satisfaction then._

Miroku was relieved when they finally reached the post office. The poor man really didn't deserve such angry company, he really didn't.

When they entered the post office the woman behind the desk looked up as the little bell on the door rang and her wide cheery face broke into a friendly warm smile.

"Oh welcome!" She cried. "It's been a long time, hasn't it! It's so good to see you again, we really _must_ catch up soon!"

Kagome and Inuyasha (he hadn't known Miroku long but Miroku had never been one to hide his true nature) both looked up at Miroku who looked just as happy to see the woman as she was to see him.

"Friend of yours?" Kagome asked drily.

"Joy!" Miroku strode towards the desk with his arms open wide. "It's been _too_ long! I'm off at ten tonight!"

Inuyasha went to look at the flyers on a nearby billboard and Kagome bought a stamp and posted her letter before checking her box. There was just one letter inside today and a catalogue which Kagome disposed of. She went to stand near Miroku (who was still chattering on with Joy) and looked at the letter. Her eyes traveled up to the return address and her face blanched white.

"Miroku!" She screeched, her hand dashing out to grab ahold of her best friend's elbow.

"Kagome?" Miroku asked. "What's wrong?"

"Is she sick?" Asked Joy. Kagome couldn't say anything. Her mouth was opening and closing but nothing was coming out. Inuyasha watched her from the other side of the room and when she started to sway he started coming over. Until Miroku snatched away the letter, took one look at the return address and shouted-

"Sota!"

Joy and Inuyasha looked at each other questioningly.

"Soba?" Joy asked. "Isn't that a type of noodle?"

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Miroku looked almost frantic and Kagome was in a state of shock. "We've really gotta go now, I'll catch up with you soon Joy! Bye Inuyasha!"

And with that Miroku, Kagome and the letter from Sota fled the post office and Inuyasha came just a few steps behind them.

"Wait up Miroku!" Inuyasha shouted. "What the hell's wrong?"

"Ah…" Miroku dragged his hand through his hair. Kagome was starting to fidget, which meant that she'd be coming to her senses soon. "This is a letter from Kagome's brother, who we haven't heard from for a long time." Miroku gave a little chuckle. "To be honest, I thought he was probably dead. He's Shippo's father."

Inuyasha gave Miroku a blank look.

"Who's Shippo?" Inuyasha asked.

"That kid you met last night."

"Oh…I thought that was Kagome's son."

"No. Just her nephew I'm afraid. But we really must be going now." Miroku said.

"Miroku," Kagome said. "I want to wait for Shippo to open this letter…"

"Just a sec, Kagome." Miroku said. "Inuyasha-"

"I'll see you lot later." Inuyasha said. "I'm going to go pay respects to my mother." Inuyasha turned away without a further word of farewell and started trotting off. Kagome and Miroku stared after him.

"Why isn't he just staying with his mother then?" Miroku wondered aloud.

"You idiot." Kagome said softly and she punched him in the shoulder. "He's going up Hill Street. It's just the graveyards up there."

"Well," Miroku reasoned. "Maybe she's an undertaker."

Kagome punched his shoulder again and sighed, she was working her mind back into order.

"All right." She said. "I want to go home and read this letter with Shippo, but we've got to go back to work so it'll have to wait."

"I agree." Said Miroku.

…

Inuyasha was trotting along through the paths the winded past the dead. He liked graveyards. They were spooky and quiet and interesting, you could discover amazing things about people by reading their gravestones, if you were good at history. This person lived through this war. That person was alive for the invention of that item. It was fascinating for him.

Inuyasha was also thinking about his new housemates. The old woman was okay, she made good soup anyway. His roommate was perverted and annoying, but not such bad company when you got down to it. The wench and her brat were just a pain, but they could easily be avoided. Last night there had been a cop for dinner. That was no good, really it wasn't. But it didn't look like she lived there and maybe there was some way he could make her avoid the place. He'd have to think about that though, it could be tricky. Inuyasha didn't like police, even more so then normal people who were as poor and oppressed as him. There was something far too familiar about that uniform. Inuyasha really hated the memories it brought up.

Inuyasha came to a stop in front of an old overgrown grave. _Now_, he thought to himself. _To business._

"Hello mum." Is what he said aloud.

…

It was 7:30 when Inuyasha found himself wandering back to Kaede's boarding house. He saw Shippo playing in front in the small excuse for a garden that Kaede had tried to cultivate in the small patch of dirt in front of the kitchen door. Inuyasha grinned at the opportunity to get back for last night's attitude without any annoying wench nearby.

"Hey kid!" Inuyasha called. "Watcha doin'?" Shippo froze and looked up and recognized the man from last night. He relaxed. This person was an evil dangerous stranger. He was just the mean nasty new neighbor. Kagome had explained it to him last night.

"I'm Lancelot, a valiant knight!" Shippo cried and brandished his Shining Sword (between you and me it was actually Kaede's best ladle, but it was certainly shiny and Kaede was certainly going to be _very_ annoyed when she found it missing). "Get back, monster spawn!" And with that Shippo charged the One Eyed Ogre (okay, dear reader, you win, you're very smart aren't you? The One Eyed Ogre was actually Inuyasha Who Was Vaguely Amused, but what sort of brave knight would Lancelot be if he went around attacking the neighbors?) but before he could reach the enemy the Ogre had picked him up by his feet and was dangling him up in the air.

"Put me down, vermin!" Lancelot (aka Shippo) cried. "Put me down right now, or I'm telling!"

"Snap out of it kid, wanna know a secret about Lancelot?" Asked the ogre who was grinning very evilly indeed. Shippo stopped pretending and looked curiously up at Inuyasha.

"What is it?" Shippo asked.

…

That night Miroku stumbled, exhausted, into his apartment. _No one,_ he thought to himself. _Should ever have to deal with Kagura when she's in a mood like that. __**No one**_Miroku was just about to crumble into his bed when he heard Inuyasha chuckling.

"What's so funny, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked wearily.

Across the hall Kagome was looking down at Shippo.

"Why Shippo!" She said. "Why on Earth did you wait up for me? You should have been asleep hours ago!" Shippo looked up at his aunt gravely.

"Kagome." Shippo said. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Shippo." Kagome said. "Anything."

Back in Miroku's apartment Miroku was staring at Inuyasha in horror.

"You did _what_?" Miroku gasped. Inuyasha grinned even wider.

"Told the brat across the hall what _really _happened between Guinevere and Lancelot." Inuyasha chortled for the second time. Oh, what fun! The wide-eyed look on the brat's face would be worth any pain he went through as a consequence. Besides, the kid was gonna find out sooner or later. The King Arthur books were fully of the stuff.

Back in Kagome's apartment Shippo was taking a deep breath.

"Kagome," Shippo asked. "What's adultery?"

…

_Well, I'm sure you can all guess what happens after that. I just thought that was a good ending point for now, not to mention that this chapter is, once again, bloody long. 35 pages! I hope you've enjoyed!_

_This time I went for speed over quality or quantity. Well, I got the quantity bit anyway, but I'm not so sure about quality so I'm sorry about that but I figured I'd better update sooner rather then later to make up for all my huge gaps between updates. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! And please continue to read!_

_**ROARRRR!!!!**_

_Oh! That's right! The Review Lion is back in business people, she's pleased that I'm updating so quickly, so she'll be on the look out! For those new readers who've never met the Review Lion before (did I explain in chapter one? I can't recall) I'll explain._

_The Review Lion tracks down anyone who reads and likes but does not review. Once she has them in her clutches she forces them to review or she eats them alive. If she is pressed she may also enlist the help of either the candy monsters or the cleaning ninjas, though to get ahold of the ninjas we have to ask Altair Kingsfeather._

_Anyway, you better review or she'll get you! I don't need much of a review, but I haven't updated on just one review since I started, so I would really appreciate some more. Just a few. Please!_

_I need at least two reviews before I'll update again._

_Thank you and see you next time!_

_Sincerely_

_Pwalefriend_


	5. One Step Behind and One Step Ahead

_**A special thank you to…**_

_**kittyb78…KawaiiEmiko50…That darlin' o' mine, Fishie…readingwritingwench…**_

…

_Thanks a lot guys! Your reviews were a lot of help with my inspiration for writing this chapter! ^_^_

…

_Disclaimer:_

_Pwale: (singing) I'm bidin' my tiiiiime…cause that's the kinda guy Iiiiiiii'm…._

_Lawyer #2: Oh why oh why oh __**why**__ won't it end?_

_Mr. X: Why on Earth is Pwale singing?_

_Lawyer #1: She's trying to annoy me and Lawyer #2, so she's singing to emphasize how she's __**not**__ telling everyone that she doesn't own the characters._

_Lawyer #2: Ah-ha! Well done Lawyer #1! What a clever way of slipping that in there!_

_Lawyer #1: Thank you, Lawyer #2. I do my best._

_Mr. X: You gentlemen are truly a wonder to us all, I don't know how you do it. May I shake your hands?_

_Pwale: You bastards. Laugh while you still can, oh yes, laugh while you still __**can**__. (Glares evilly and goes off to cackle privately. If she cackled in front of people they might realize that she's planning something)_

_Kurogane-san: Wait…No one's answered my question yet! WHERE AM I?_

…

_**Authors Note: **_

"_**Garlic" artwork? What is that? Good thing you asked! Actually, I was thinking of Gaul but I didn't know the spelling, and when I misspelled it my check turned it to Garlic. I liked the thought of an ancient civilization called Garlic so well that I kept it. I suppose they must have invented the vegetable. (Grins)**_

…

_The Corner Store_

_**One Step Behind And One Step Ahead**_

_Chapter Five_

By Pwalefriend

…

Sango walked up to the reference desk and waited for the tight and stern-looking librarian to notice her. When there was no indication of attention from the sitting woman, who was cataloging something or another by the looks of the small checks and writing she was focusing on, Sango cleared her throat politely.

"Excuse me, ma'am." Sango said. The librarian looked up and gave Sango a long look.

"Yes?" Inquired the librarian coldly. "May I _help_ you, officer?"

"I'm looking for a book." Sango said. "It's called…" She took out a small sheet of paper with Kagome's handwriting on it from her front pocket. "_Magister Twist's Accessories and Jewelry Galore! Save 50 Buy Now Get One Copy Free_." The librarian stiffened a little and her gaze grew distinctively chillier. Sango shuddered and considered arresting the librarian for carrying and using a lethal weapon against and officer. A person could have frozen wooly mammoths in their tracks with a look like that.

"I'll just be a moment." Said the librarian softly and hatefully. The woman rose from her chair like a phoenix from the flame, only with the polar opposite of passion and heat, and drifted into the back. Presumably to fetch the desired book and not, as might be the casual observer's first opinion, to murder some innocent young intern and eat her liver. Sango shuddered.

This time the librarian wasn't long in fetching the book, Sango didn't give off that "I don't belong here and I know it" vibe that Kagome did. It was one of the few aspects of professionalism that Sango had managed to pick up in her time at the police academy. She walked like she owned the place and she stood like she was waiting for someone to handcuff. Also she had, as has been before observed, a really big stick tied to her waist. It has often been said that a really big stick is one of the most useful things a person can have.

Sango thanked the librarian for the book (the librarian sniffed haughtily and reminded the young policewoman that reference material was _not_ to be taken from the library under _any _circumstances. Sango considered asking if there were possible exceptions in the occasion of a fire, a scientifically impossible flooding, or a ransacking of the city, but decided not to because if anyone tried to ransack the library Sango had the distinct impression that this librarian would slap them around their faces with their own bladders and tell them that they were disgusting little men and to go home and take a much-needed bath _right now_) and then she went off to sit down and write her own list.

This list was slightly different from Kagome's list. This was going to be a list of all the pieces in Magister Twist's book that _hadn't_ been stolen yet. Then Sango was going to hunt all these pieces down. She didn't know what she was going to find out from doing this, but Sango felt that it was definitely worth a try. In fact she was rather proud of herself for thinking up the idea. While she was at it, Sango was inspired to add, she'd better find out more about the Magister Twist fellow himself. What sort of guy was he and why are jewelry pieces in his book being stolen probably in order with appearance in the pages of his work? If that was, in fact, what was happening. Sango still wasn't sure…of course, she couldn't yet be sure of anything, could she?

There was a rash of mysterious jewelry thefts throughout the city, and so far every piece stolen had been a piece that had been stolen and recovered in a series of robberies five years ago that had been, up till the Corner Store had been robbed, _exactly_ the same circumstances with no trace left in the stricken shops. Five years ago a woman had been killed when the thieves had been facing off with the police in an armed confrontation, and a younger Kanna had discovered the body. The thieves had all escaped and were, as far as anyone could know were still at large.

This was all the police knew at this time.

What a load of bullshit.

Sango felt herself getting angry. She _knew_ that Kagura and Kanna were withholding information, she just _knew_ it. But she hadn't the faintest idea how to go about getting that information because Sango, as has been many times mentioned before, really wasn't cut out for her job. But she did her best, and she loved it, and she hated how everyone thought that she couldn't do it. Speaking of which was Mushin keeping something from her as well? She wouldn't put it past the old codger…

…Past…

In the past…who had dealt with the jewelry case five years ago?

Sango closed the book with a snap. This thinking stuff was all well and good, but she had a plan and it really wouldn't do to get sidetracked now. She'd get back to that idea later.

Sango snuck the book back onto the Scary Librarian's desk and fled the library before anything could harm her further but the second she was out in the bright sunshine and safe from the forbidding condescension of ladies with their hair in tight buns and stern glasses balanced on their noses who sit behind desks all day and are so _educated_ that they make notes on how stupid you are.

Twenty minutes later Sango was sauntering into the Corner Store. The little bell on top of the door tinkled away and she heard a familiar voice saying-

"Just a moment, honored-oh, it's you! Sango! You should have told me you were coming to see me, I'm in the middle of work right now but if you felt yourself unable to bear the separation any longer I underst-"

"Miroku!" Sango snapped. "_Never_ sexually harass a police officer. Just a bit of friendly advice." Miroku gulped a little and looked her up and down.

"You're here on business?" He asked.

"I'm here on business, you sly pervert."

"Not to see me?"

"I just called you 'sly pervert' didn't I? Does that give you the impression I'd _ever_ come just to see you?"

"It could be an endearing pet name." Miroku reasoned a little desperately. "Why, just the other day Kagome slapped me and called me 'annoying and disgusting little weasel' and-"

"I remember that." Kanna said, appearing out of nowhere. She had a teddy bear in one hand and a small jar of high-class honey mustard in the other. "It was when we were closing up. And it wasn't a pet name. You were being a filthy pig. You really were."

"Ah." Miroku looked a little hurt. Sango knelt down.

"Hello Kanna, do you remember me?" Sango asked softly.

"Do I look like I'm a silly child to you, officer?" Kanna queried in reply.

"Oh, I know this one, answer honestly." Miroku advised. Sango took it.

"Yes." She answered very honestly indeed. Kanna's lips twitched and her eyes narrowed into something-that-wasn't-a-glare. In a happier or more normal child this might have been a wicked wicked grin.

"Good." Kanna said. "I work hard at it. But I assure you, officer, I am no child. Nor do I wish to be treated as a silly anything under _any_ circumstances. Excepting, of course, situations where I specify otherwise. I am, I'm sure, absolutely clear. You may talk to my sister, if you so wish. It is my lunchtime and I am _not_ to be disturbed. Perhaps I will see you later." And with that Kanna walked off and left a nervous Miroku and Sango who was beginning to look slightly worried.

"She's…erm…fond of tea parties, is she?" Sango asked Miroku. Miroku shrugged.

"I don't think so." He said. "Why do you ask?"

"Only she's having lunch with her teddy bear…"

"…Erm…"

"She is having lunch _with_ the teddy bear, right?" Sango asked, she had the weirdest feeling that something was slipping away from her.

"…I…I'm sure I don't know…" Miroku said looking everywhere but Sango. The policewoman went pale as whitewash.

"You can't seriously mean that she intends to-"

There was a sound of ripping fabric and everything went quiet for one ghastly moment. One ghastly ghouly moment. Then the white noise roared up and covered everything else and Sango and Miroku hurriedly began to think of other things.

After all. Some murders can be solved, or at least a sham and a semblance of "solved" that's as close as us mere mortals can get after the deed's been done. Other murders ought to be left alone.

"Kagura!" Miroku shouted into the back room. "Officer Sango here to see you!"

"Ah. Officer. How nice to see you again." Kagura swept with grace, poise and a killer presence into the storefront. There were no other customers. Sango didn't know it, but she was the first non-employee in the shop all day. "If you came to see Kagome it's her special day off."

"_Special_ day off?" Sango asked, curious. Kagura sniffed.

"Indeed." Kagura said. "If I don't give her one day a month to spend entirely and happily with Shippo the annoying runt shows up here and makes _my_ sister miserable."

There was another ripping sound from somewhere dark and terrifying in the store. No one heard it. No one wanted to hear it.

"Ah. Yes." Sango said and she looked down at her list, which she was holding in her hand. "Then maybe _you_ can help me, ma'am." Sango held out the piece of paper and Kagura took it and started reading. "Do you recognize any of those names?"

"No." Kagura said. She raised her eyes to meet Sango's. "Should I, officer?"

"They are all jewelry pieces that are eligible to be stolen next." Sango said. "Could you please think back, ma'am? It would be most useful if you could give me any information that you may have."

"All I know," said Kagura stiffly as she handed back the list. "Is that five years ago I was considering opening a jewelry shop despite the series of thefts that were happening in this city. These were very strange thefts indeed, for not a single trace was left behind, it was as if the thieves had no finger prints or clues to ever leave behind and the jewelry which was always under glass and lock was taken as if someone had the key. The police originally passed the whole thing off as a hoax, a fraud, but soon there were too many thefts for them to excuse and many of the merchants and the mines were threatening to stop selling to us because stores were going out of business and were unable to repay the credit that they'd bought on. The police were forced to take the situation _very_ seriously when it became apparent that either the thieves were caught or the jewelry and diamond industry in this city was going to completely collapse. One night on my street there was a huge armed face-off between, presumably, the thieves themselves and the police. My sister got out that night and found the body of the only woman who'd been murdered." Kagura took a deep breath. "The pieces that were recovered, and not all of them were recovered Kanna informs me, were eventually released back to the market. A little while ago these same pieces began to disappear in the exact same way they did five years ago. The police are trying to deal with this situation as quietly as possible because in their minds this could lead to a big political scandal if all the nobility who have heavily invested in the market catch wind of a possible disaster like this and throw a fuss." Kagura gave Sango a squinting look. "And you, the officer in charge of the investigation, indeed the only officer at all involved in the investigation, is exceedingly interested in my little sister. And my shop has been robbed and you have not found the thief." Sango was blushing a teensy bit by this point and Kagura heaved a dramatic sigh. "This, Officer Sango, is all that I know."

"Oh. Thank you." Was all Sango could think of to say.

"Actually…" Said Kagura and she frowned. "This piece…The jade necklace with the Goddess engraving? Isn't that on display at the Puster Memorial Museum over on Nody Two Avenue?"

"Eh? Really?" Sango said. "Is it part of the exhibit they've got on Garlic artwork?"

"Who knows? I just remember seeing a flyer."

"Thanks, Ms. Kagura. I'll go check it out."

"You do that, Officer Sango. You do that."

…

"Have you got your coat, Shippo?" Kagome called as she was drying her hair. She had just taken a bath in the huge kettle that she and Shippo used as a bathtub and was drying off before she stepped behind the old cloth screen that gave the aunt and nephew privacy when they needed it. With just Kagome's income they could barely afford the one-room apartment, and so they had to make do for dividers when they wanted a wall.

"Kagome," Shippo whined. "Why can't we just stay home and play today?"

"Because." Kagome sniffed. "That nasty rotten person will be here and I don't want you exposed to him any longer."

"I heard that!" Came the muffled voice of Inuyasha from outside the room and in the hall. Kagome gasped.

"How _dare_ you eavesdrop on our conversations!" She shouted as she finished drying her hair and walked out from behind the screen. She started stalking past Shippo and towards the door.

"I'm not eavesdropping, wench!" Inuyasha bellowed back. "You screech so loud I could've heard you if I was on the stairs!"

"You _cretin_!" Kagome yelped. "I do not screech!" She screeched. Kagome yanked open her door, hoping to find Inuyasha with his ear to the keyhole or something like that. Instead what she found was Inuyasha kneeling in his and Miroku's doorway with a leveler in his hands and looking up at her with a irritated expression. Kagome faltered for just a moment. "What are you doing to Miroku's door?" She demanded.

"Miroku and _Inuyasha's_ door." Inuyasha corrected her. "Not that it's any of your business, but it wasn't closing properly. I'm fixing it."

"Hmph." Kagome sniffed. "Well, you, Inuyasha, are a pervert."

"Excuse me!" Inuyasha gaped. "Your friend Miroku is the pervert, not _me_!"

"Miroku at least has a sense of what is and what is not age-appropriate!" Kagome yelled. "I can't _believe_ you told Shippo-You know what? I'm not even going to bother fighting with you about this. It isn't worth it. _You_ aren't worth it. Now if you'll excuse me. Come on Shippo." Kagome grabbed Shippo by his little arm and practically dragged him out of their room and down the hall and down the stairs. Shippo waved a tiny bit at Inuyasha.

"Bye Mister!" Shippo called. Inuyasha watched them leave and shook his head. What an annoying wench, and what a weird kid. Then he looked at the door that Kagome had, in her anger, left wide open. Inuyasha put down his leveler, brushed off his knees and got up. Now he had to go get Kaede to see if the old woman had an extra key to Kagome's apartment so that they could lock it up. Not that the woman would say thank you or anything.

To be honest Kagome's snippy attitude annoyed Inuyasha quite a bit, but…well, there were times when it was appropriate to get involved with petty wars with your neighbors and times when you were just too busy for such a mini-crisis to be manageable.

Besides…There was something that was beginning to worry him about her. After all, she did work at that store. And today she was going to the Puster? Of course, it could just be coincidence. Really it could.

It could, Inuyasha was forced to admit to himself, but he didn't really believe that it was.

…

"Hey Kagome!" Shippo cried and pointed up ahead of them. Shippo and Kagome were strolling hand in hand on the sidewalk up Nody Two Avenue and Shippo had just polished off an ear of roasted corn that he'd suckered his aunt into buying from a street vendor for him. It was a cold day in the city and Kagome was watching her breath form clouds in front of her. The clouds were drooping in the sky in that heavy fat way they have right before they snow, like a dinner of fat men and woman who are now getting ready for bad after a peaceful nightcap. When it started snowing it wasn't going to snow a fierce blizzard or a light flurry, but rather a peaceful blanket of white fluff which would stay white for maybe a few minutes after hitting the streets before turning a gross slushy brownish-grey color.

"What is it Shippo?" Kagome asked.

"Isn't that the cop, Sango?" Shippo asked. Kagome looked up ahead and smiled.

"Yes, it is, Shippo." Kagome said. "Hey! Sango!" Kagome waved to the other woman with her free hand and smiled.

Kagome had decided that she liked Sango too much to hate her on the basis of Sango being a policewoman. Besides, Kagome had a feeling that Sango wasn't going to stay a policewoman. It just didn't seem like the right sort of lifestyle for someone as righteous thinking as Sango.

"Kagome! Shippo! What a pleasant surprise!" Sango said, coming up to them. "What are you doing here?"

It was soon discovered that the three of them were going to the same place and with the same mission in mind, to get a look at this jewelry piece that was next on the list and had been previously stolen. They decided to go together and the first snowflakes were just starting to come down when they arrived at the Puster Memorial Museum and paid their King's ransom to get in.

There were great big signs which pointed them in the right direction (the exhibit in question was a new one, so the museum was going all out with their blue arrows that said things like "Garlic Exhibit: THIS WAY" and "THIS WAY to the Garlic Exhibit" (museum curators never have much imagination when it comes to signs). But when they arrived they found themselves stepping into a hubbub of activity. And Sango, who was in uniform, suddenly found herself the center of it.

"Oh Officer!" Cried a curator who was flinging himself threw the press of people towards Sango, Kagome and Shippo. "Thank goodness you arrived so quickly!"

"Er…" Was all Sango said. "Sorry?"

"Why, we've barely just called the police and already you're here! It's terrible! Just terrible! We've no idea where it's gone! We've been robbed and no idea how or when it happened! This is _terrible_!" The curator was through the crowd now and sobbing at Sango, who looked completely and utterly baffled. Kagome, who was very good at understanding and translating hysterics, mouthed over the man's shoulder to Sango 'There's Been A Robbery.' Sango nodded to show she understood and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket.

"Calm down, man." Sango commanded. "Now, what's been taken?"

"A jade necklace, one of the most important and interesting parts of the exhibit." Cried the curator. His words were like cold water down Kagome and Sango's spines and the two women shared a worried look. Shippo was enjoying the rare entertainment of getting to watch a grown man cry.

"With a Goddess engraving?" Sango asked weakly. The curator nodded through his tears.

"It's terrible, officer! Terrible!"

"Yes." Kagome agreed under her breathe. "It is."

This was beginning to get disturbing.

…

"Officer Sango, _why haven't you solved this case yet_?" Mushin screamed at his one and only female officer. "It's just a series of jewelry thefts! What's _wrong_ with you!"

"I've got no leads, sir." Sango said.

"No leads? _No leads_? IT'S THE EXACT SAME CIRCUMSTANCES AS A THEFT CASE FIVE YEARS AGO! EXACT SAME! HOW IS THAT NOT A LEAD!"

"Because, sir, we've got no files from five years ago." Sango said. "The only bits we had were newspaper clippings that talked about Kanna, and I've talked to her on several occasions, and I think I've got a list of all the pieces that are going to be stolen, you'll remember, sir, that I've asked you for permission to send a warning to all those in possession of the jewelry pieces that are on my list."

"And I've told you that is ridiculous nonsense!" Mushin screamed. Sango held back a sigh. Mushin didn't, and the old man heaved a big one and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Sir, can I ask a question?" Sango asked. Mushin refrained from pointing out that she just had asked a question and that the one she had wanted to ask was 'may I' anyway. Instead he nodded.

"Who was in charge of the case five years ago?" Sango asked. "And why don't we have any records of it."

Mushin shrugged. "There was a fire." He said. "We lost a lot of records. A lot of them. And I don't remember who was in charge during the beginning, but Sesshomaru, the former Chief of Police, was involved at the end." Mushin shrugged. "I think he's living somewhere in the country now." Mushin sighed again. "Officer Sango, do you know _why_ I am so mad at you right now? Do you?"

"No sir." Sango said, keeping her eyes on the spot of wall directly above Mushin's head.

"It's because some very important people are starting to get upset, especially if our museums are being robbed. Understand? Do you understand, Officer Sango?" Mushin had an odd habit of repeating fragments of his sentences.

"Yes sir."

Mushin heaved yet another sigh. "I hope you do, Officer Sango. I hope you do."

…

"So did he give you an address?" Kagome asked Sango later that night.

"Yes, and he said that it might be a good idea if I did go to talk with Lord Sesshomaru." Sango said. The two women were sitting in Kaede's kitchen while Kaede knit by the fire and Shippo was playing with two spoons, the salt and peppershakers (empty) and a peeler. They couldn't be sure, but they thought he was developing some new sort of governmental system based on bone structure. Kagome gave a low whistle.

"A Lord, huh?" Kagome said. "Well. Well, well, well. There's something you don't see everyday, at lease not around here."

Sango nodded. The thought of actually going to question a Lord, especially one who used to be a policeman himself, made her very nervous.

"Well, I'll have to go." Sango said. "I've got no other ideas right now, and Mushin is getting angry with me for not solving the case immediately."

"I wonder if I could-" Kagome started to stay but she stopped immediately when the door on the far side of the kitchen swung open and Inuyasha came in. The young man threw the women a funny glance before turning to Kaede.

"Oi! Kaede!" Inuyasha growled. Kaede looked up and frowned.

"Nice to see you again, too." Kaede said. "What do you want this time, Inuyasha?"

Sango and Kagome, who were watching from the table they were sitting at, were shocked to see Inuyasha flush just a tiny bit and wondered what on earth he could have bothered Kaede about earlier. They were even more curious when he threw the tiniest of all glances at Kagome and said-

"Feh. Don't know what you're talking about, Kaede. I just wanted to know when dinner was."

Kaede frowned.

"I am not a restaurant, Inuyasha." Kaede said. "It is not my job to feed you, I am not your mother either."

For a moment Inuyasha's face darkened and Kagome, remembering Inuyasha's back as he jogged up the street to the graveyards the day before, interrupted by saying-

"Kaede? Do you have the time? I'm sure Miroku was supposed to be back by now!"

Indeed, no sooner had Kagome said that then Miroku himself came in through the door. Everyone was happy to see him (except for Inuyasha, no one was sure how he felt about the arrival. He just grumbled at Miroku in a vaguely welcoming fashion) and Kaede and Kagome fussed because Miroku had walked home through the snow without an umbrella or even a hat or a scarf and was now sopping wet. The two motherly women sat him down by the fire with a big cup of tea and took off all this wet outer clothes while Shippo tried to explain to his aunt's best friend about how the two spoons thought they were superior to the peeler and how the peppershaker was leading a revolution of toothpicks and Sango and Inuyasha stood off to the side awkwardly and avoided each other's gaze.

Miroku waved everyone off.

"Kagome, I've got bad news." Miroku said as he took a thankful sip of his tea. "Business was even worse again today, not a single customer. Kagura's fit to be tied. She says that business was never as good as to keep us all very secure and if this sate of affairs continues on she'll have to either fire us or cut our wages in half."

Kagome chewed her bottom lip.

"Well," she said. "Actually, the wages thing reminds me of something." She pulled a crinkled sheet of paper from her pocket. "It's Sota's letter."

"Oh!" Miroku exclaimed and he sat up straight. "Read it now! Read it now!"

"_Dear Shippo and Kagome_," Kagome read.

"_How are you two? Of course you're doing fine, I've never in all my life met a more capable and level-headed woman then my sister_-"

Inuyasha snorted. _Must not have met very many women in his time, this guy. _He thought. Kagome ignored him.

"_I'm so sorry that I haven't contacted you before this, but we were never settled in one place long enough for me to bother. I can't tell you of my job, but know that it is of the utmost importance and only that is keeping me from coming back to my family! I miss you all so much! I've enclosed a sum of 20 dollars, to help with your rent, Kagome, and Shippo, when I get back I'll tell you all about the unicorn I saw the other day!_"

Shippo sighed dreamily. What a wonderful father he had, how many boys had fathers who'd seen real live _unicorns_?

"_And give my best to Miroku and Kaede_. _Your loving brother, Sota_." Kagome finished.

"…Kagome…" Miroku said, but then discovered that he had no comment to make. Kagome met his eyes and they knew they were having the same thoughts.

Was this good or bad? Twenty dollars was a lot of money. _What was Sota doing_?

"Well, don't worry about that right now, Miroku." Kaede commanded. "Don't you worry about any of it, or you really will get sick. And Kagome love, you just give me half of that twenty, and you'll be all paid up for rent for two months, with this lot as our witness you'll not have to pay me for a fortnight and three days, if today's the 16th."

"It's the 15th." Sango corrected.

"Ah. A fortnight and _four_ days, then." Kaede said. Kagome handed over the money and hugged Shippo.

Things kept on getting complicated, didn't they?

For the rest of the night Sango and Inuyasha both stayed strangely quiet.

…

_Oh my goodness me oh my. I'm really on a roll here, aren't I? Another 30 page chapter! And it's only been what, one week? Two weeks? Since the last update!_

_I tell you. _

_Well, there you have it all, I'm sorry if it's confusing. I'm trying to keep everything clear, so things will probably go a little slowly, but (and I'm not sure) I think thing's are going to start picking up from this point on. Anyway, it's gonna be harder to keep track of everything between updates for you lot. _

_So tell me, do you think I should add a little bit at the beginning of each chapter that recaps everything that you (the reader) and they (the characters) have discovered? Just a little way of keeping the clues in mind? I think it's a good idea, but please review to tell me what you think._

_Indeed, remember to review anyway. Reviews are what make fan fiction go 'round!_

_**Roar**__!_

_See? The Review Lion agrees with me!_

_Till next time!_

_Sincerely_

_Pwalefriend_


	6. Would You Could You

_**A special thanks to…**_

_**Anyone who read and/or reviewed over the past few years.**_

…_._

_Never thought the day would come when I'd actually start writing this again…_

_I dunno…guess the mood just sort of…struck me…_

_OK. Well. Hmmm…_

_I doubt any new readers are familiar with me. To you I say, HELLO!_

_If any of my old readers are reading this…I cannot believe you're still here. I don't know whether to be shocked, flattered or worried. _

_Anyway…I guess, since I finally just finished the manga, I felt like I might as well…tie up loose ends? And thus, TA-DA!_

_I am going to finish my fanfiction. After a 2 (almost 3) year hiatus, The Corner Store shall be revived._

_Welcome to the madhouse._

A/N: In my fics Kagome almost never looks like Kikyo. Maybe in one or two, but most importantly not in this one. Personally I think that in the manga Sango looks more like Kikyo than Kagome…I've never been able to really see the resemblance…

_Disclaimer:_

_Everyone: …_

…

…

…

_No…_

_Pwale: Hi guys! Did you miss me?_

_Mr. X: No. God no. Please no. Anything but that!_

_Pwale: Aww, you know you love me. _

_Inuyasha: Why? __**WHHHHYYYYY?**_

_Sesshomaru (pointing a shaky finger): You can't hurt me anymore you devil! I've been getting professional help and I am much more secure in myself now!_

_Pwale: Oh, Fluffy, I never wanted to hurt you._

_Sesshomaru: You didn't?_

_Pwale: No silly. Just make you cry a little bit._

_Al: We don't own the characters._

_Pwale: Al! I wanted to say that as a way to celebrate our reunion!_

_Al: Too bad. And HOW DID I GET BACK HERE? PWALE! WHY'D YOU DRAG ME BACK HERE?_

_Pwale: …Closure?_

_Al: …Go to hell. And no more late nights._

…

_**The Corner Store**_

_Chapter Six_

_**Would You Could You**_

_By Pwale_

…

The next morning Miroku had a cold. He sneezed and hacked and groaned, shivering between the sheets and wondering loudly if this was to be his last day. Inuyasha could barely stand it. Sure, the pervert had a fever but it wasn't _that_ high. It certainly didn't warrant the way both Kagome and Kaede were fussing and babying their patient. Inuyasha watched grumpily from the kitchen counter as Miroku was wrapped in a blanket and settled down in front of the fire, with a bowl of hot soup and a large mug of soothing tea within reach. Kaede had gone upstairs to clean Miroku's (and Inuyasha's) room for him and Kagome was fussing over the blanket corners while Miroku whined at her, telling her that his joints ached and he was too cold. She made soothing noises at him and Inuyasha's eyebrows shot up.

This was seriously pathetic. Didn't Miroku have any pride as a man?

Inuyasha heard a soft _ha-rumph_ from the floor and he looked down to see Shippo glaring at the couple by the fire.

"What's your deal, kid?" Inuyasha asked.

"It's not fair that he gets to be pampered just because he's sick." Shippo complained quietly so that only Inuyasha could hear him. "I want to be pampered too."

Inuyasha shrugged a little uncomfortably. He had never been pampered in his life and, though he'd never admit it to himself, it looked kind of…nice. This was very frustrating. Now was not the time to develop soft feelings or to get distracted. Not now when his enemy had just resurfaced.

"Miroku, I have to go to work now." Kagome was telling her friend. "Are you sure you're going to be okay here?"

"I'b fine." Miroku sniffed. "Don' worry 'bout me. I'b fine."

"…Sure you are." Kagome said doubtfully, but it wasn't like she really had a choice. She sighed. "Shippo," she called. "Could you stay away from Miroku today? I don't want you catching his cold. Just play in the yard or in our room, okay?"

"Yes, Kagome." Shippo said as innocently as he could. Inuyasha snorted. It didn't take a wizard to tell that the four-year-old was lying, but Kagome seemed to buy it and she smiled at her nephew lovingly.

"Then I'll be off." She waved goodbye and left the kitchen out the side door, headed for the street. Shippo darted to the opening and made sure his beloved aunt was well out of earshot before he pounced on Miroku.

"Miroku," Shippo asked in as sweet a voice as he could muster. "What's in the book you hide under your mattress?" Miroku started coughing as some of his soup went down the wrong pipe and Inuyasha burst out laughing. Shippo frowned at them. "You're not answering my question!"

Miroku was still hacking so Inuyasha decided to step in. "Kid, if Miroku told you what was in that book, Miss Prissy over there would flay him alive."

"Oh." Shippo sat back, looking disappointed. "So it's something perverted then."

"Afraid so." Inuyasha smirked at Miroku's obvious discomfort.

"Shippo," Miroku asked wheezily. "How dib you eben find out 'bout dat?"

"I sneak into your room when you're at work." Shippo shrugged. "I thought there might be a princess in need of rescuing in there."

Miroku had a strained expression on his face and the number of sexual innuendoes Inuyasha was tempted to make were so dazzling that all he could do was laugh. Shippo huffed angrily and left them to it. Grown-ups were _so_ annoying.

…

Kagome had forgotten how much she enjoyed being all alone in the store. She was almost glad Miroku wasn't there, though she felt somewhat guilty since he was, after all, suffering and he needed the money just as much-if not more-as she did. But…Kagome didn't get much time to herself. Ever. As she sat behind the counter, swinging her legs in the air as she perched on the high stool and humming a happy little tune to herself Kagome was lulled by the warmth of the fire, the soft winter sunlight trickling in through the clean windows and the overall luxury of her surroundings. Before she knew it she had slipped into a daydream. She imagined herself as she hunted down the mysterious jewel thieves and brought them to justice, humiliating the police force (Sango not included) and becoming an overnight hero. She imagined the Queen herself coming to Kaede's door to personally thank the young shop girl who had so valiantly put her life on the line to battle the evil in the city. Her Majesty would, as a reward for Kagome's selflessness, bestow upon her a beautiful mansion with many jewels and fancy ballgowns and lovely carriages where Kagome, Shippo and Sota could live. Of course Miroku would come with them, and maybe Kaede too if she wanted to. Business at the shop would boom because everyone would be coming to see the wonderful girl who had saved their city and Kagura would be so grateful that she'd give Kagome a raise. Business would be doing so well in fact that they'd be able to move location into one of the major shopping streets and then…and then…

Kagome couldn't think of anything else that she wanted.

She sighed drearily, the fun of her daydream ruined. Sometimes she wondered about herself, she really did. All her aspirations in life were materialistic, all her hopes and dreams were about comfort and financial security. Shouldn't she have at least _some_ more personal goals? Something that drove her, that she was passionate about, that interrupted the monotony of her days as they drifted by?

Take today, for example.

After leaving Miroku tucked up by the fire she had walked to work all alone, taking care so that her shoes didn't get too wet in the slushy mushy city snow. She had arrived exactly on time and had opened the shop all alone. She had swept the floor, dusted the glass and checked the inventory. Kagura and Kanna weren't due to come in for a few more hours so after she counted the money in the safe and checked the locks on the back door (after the burglary Kagura had gotten more demanded about safety protocol) she had discovered that she had nothing else to do. Just a few moments ago this had delighted her but unfortunately she'd spent too much time in deep thought and now she felt sad.

She wished she had a passion. Something that would excite her.

Maybe she should get a hobby? Kagome grimaced at the thought. She didn't have time for a hobby. Plus, all the hobbies she knew about involved spending money, which wasn't an option for her. Not with rent to pay, a second mouth to feed and the dead of winter yet to come. She needed money for food, for water, for food for their fire and for warm clothes when what Shippo was wearing finally fell off him. She didn't have money to spend on a hobby, even if it was a really useful one like knitting or weaving. Besides, those were boring. Everything was boring. Her life was so boring.

Kagome was starting to make herself really miserable now.

When she heard the little silver bells above the door jingle-jangle as someone entered Kagome straightened up with a big, genuine smile and a strong feeling of relief.

"Lady Callows!" Kagome greeted one of their best customers. "Welcome back!"

"Good morning." Lady Callows looked around the store. "Is that nice young man here today?"

"I'm afraid not, my Lady." Kagome said as she came out from behind the counter. "May I be of assistance instead?"

"I'm looking for a necklace suitable for a debutante making her first appearance of the Season." Lady Callows said. "She's the daughter of a friend so it shouldn't be anything too personal, but one really can't just give the girl nothing."

"I understand, my Lady." Kagome nodded sympathetically, though in reality she didn't understand what the older woman meant at all. "We have some perfect necklaces right this way…"

Kagome didn't know why, but the sudden talk of necklaces made her remember the burglary. That stolen piece had been a necklace as well, but…it didn't fit with the rest of the thefts. Not only had it been done after hours, and not only were there signs of damage but the stolen necklace hadn't been in Magister Twist's book. Kanna made all their pieces herself. Was it really just a coincidence?

And where were the original pieces?

Why were Kagura and Kanna so uncomfortable?

As Kagome proceeded to give her sales pitch her resolve hardened into a concrete, definite goal. She _would_ get to the bottom of this. She _was_ going to solve the mystery of the jewelry heists. And she _was_ going to be a hero and bring her brother home.

…

Inuyasha was walking along a narrow street, glancing at the shop windows as he passed. His hands were stuck in his pocket, clenched as tightly as his jaw. He was pretending that he wasn't cold, but the wind had picked up and it was getting harder to keep up his poker face. One of his ears twitched as a man passed him briskly, cursing under his breath at the frigid breeze. Inuyasha was grateful for his long silver hair. At least his neck wasn't cold.

He couldn't believe he was doing this.

So his new roommate had a cold? What did that have to do with him? He already had the old woman and the noisy wench pandering to him, Miroku definitely didn't need Inuyasha's help. And Inuyasha sure as hell didn't need anyone getting attached to him. As soon as his job was done he would disappear in the wind, never to be seen again. He'd probably get on a boat and go east, to warmer climates where disease and luxury went hand in hand. That sounded much more like his kind of lifestyle. Brief, warm and well-seasoned. Plus the food in the east was amazing, much better then the bloody intestines they passed off as food in his homeland. Inuyasha growled angrily. If there was one thing he couldn't stand it was bad food.

And the smell of rotten peaches, and the feel of wet velvet, and people who moved their mouth when they read, and rude shopkeepers, and inept pickpockets and…well, there were actually a lot of things Inuyasha couldn't stand.

Like the noisy wench. She had a lot of nerve. Yeah, so Inuyasha had to admit that they had gotten off on the wrong foot and sure, he hadn't exactly helped matters since then, but _still_. She treated him as if he was dangerous and that offended him. She didn't even know him!

_Well, I mean…_ Inuyasha frowned thoughtfully. Of course, he _was_ dangerous. He knew that better than anybody. But he was trying to hide that aspect of his nature so how did _she_ know it? Inuyasha hated naturally perceptive people. They were harder to trick. Especially if they weren't aware of their own instinctual abilities, like this girl. He could see it in her eyes that there was something in her bones telling her to stay away from him because he was trouble, but he could also watch her try to overcome this inclination by telling herself that she had to give him a chance. Inuyasha scoffed.

She shouldn't give him a chance, for her own sake. But for his sake he was going to have to make her. She was too cozy with that cop for him to feel safe. Miroku was easy to fool but if he wasn't careful Kagome would notice something was going on, especially if she was already suspicious.

Inuyasha realized he was already at his destination and sighed happily as he walked indoors. It was so warm in here. As he closed the door tightly behind him he made his resolution. He would just have to make Kagome trust him, somehow. It wouldn't be easy but for the sake of his mission it would have to be done.

Now, to business…

Inuyasha looked around the well-lit shop. It was one of those stores that sold some of everything for very cheap. Things you needed, things you didn't need, things you wanted, things you couldn't imagine anyone ever wanting and things you'd never even heard of before. Like pens, stamps, reading glasses, hammers, glue, hats and doll legs. Inuyasha avoided looking at the crate of mismatched baby doll parts, it always creeped him out.

Inuyasha was there to buy Miroku an umbrella. The only reason the pervert had a cold was because he hadn't dried his hair properly after walking through the slush and the freezing rain last night. That was no good. An umbrella was such a simple thing, it was no skin off Inuyasha's nose to pick one up.

He browsed through the selection on the rack, a little uncomfortable with what he was doing despite everything he told himself about there being absolutely no meaning behind this action. Under no circumstances was it a offering of friendship or whatever. Sure, the two of them got along fine which was great because they had to live together, but Inuyasha wasn't friends with anybody. Inuyasha couldn't afford to have friends. He had more important things to worry about.

The umbrella was just an umbrella. That's all.

It was probably lucky for Inuyasha that he couldn't hear the conversation his feet were having at that moment.

_Do you think he's noticed it yet?_ Whispered the left foot.

_Nah, he's way too thick._ Whispered the right foot.

_Keep it down, you two._ Hissed the heart. _I don't want the Brain to get suspicious! I'm trying to be sneaky about this._

_About what?_ Asked the liver.

_He's just trying to get brownie points with-_ The left first started to say before Brain cut in.

_What are you guys talking about?_ Asked Brain, but the rest of the body lapsed into guilty silence.

Inuyasha picked the dark purple umbrella. It seemed like something the pervert would like.

…

Not that he cared what the pervert liked, or anything.

As he went up to the counter to have Miroku's gift rung Inuyasha tried to think of things he could do to get Kagome to trust him without actually having to be nice to her. Inuyasha didn't do friendship and he _definitely_ didn't do niceness. It just wasn't his scene. Maybe he could rescue her, or something? That usually worked with girls, but it was a little hard to plan. Plus…Inuyasha frowned as he handed over the umbrella to the shop boy, along with the handful of change it was worth. _I don't want to put anyone in danger._ He thought fiercely. _Not again. The whole reason I'm even doing these things is so that no one else gets hurt… _He sighed. So a fake rescue was out of the picture. What else could he do?

He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the lady cop until he turned around and almost bumped right into her.

"You!" He gasped, hiding the umbrella behind his back. He didn't want to get caught being…concerned.

"You!" Sango had the exact same reaction and she sidled to the side so that he could move past her without him seeing whatever it was she was holding behind her. "What are you doing here?"

"Shopping." Inuyasha answered vaguely. "Why do you want to know?"

"I was just…uh…" Sango couldn't think of any reason, it had just slipped out. "No reason…" Inuyasha's eyes narrowed suspiciously but he wanted to get out of there before she noticed the umbrella so he let her lame answer slide.

"Bye." He said.

"Bye." She said.

Neither of them moved. Inuyasha couldn't walk out of the shop normally without her seeing the umbrella. "Aren't you buying something?" He asked her. She blushed a little bit.

"Aren't you leaving?" She shot back.

"Of course I'm leaving." Inuyasha huffed and, seeing no other choice, backed out of the shop.

Sango watched him leave, curiosity getting the best of her. Not only did he walk backwards out of the shop but he walked backwards down the street as well, so that she never got a glimpse of his purchase. What had he bought that he was so desperate not to show her? They were practically strangers so it must be something really awful. Could it be…? But no, Sango didn't think they sold any porn here. But maybe…against her will her eyes slid over to the baby doll parts crate. She shuddered and decided that she didn't want to think on Kaede's new boarder anymore.

"Are you buying that?" The shop boy asked, pointing to the purple umbrella she'd been hiding behind her back. Sango blushed a deep red when she remembered what she was doing there in the first place.

"Um," she mumbled, placing it on the counter. "I guess so…"

If asked why she was buying Miroku an umbrella Sango would not have been able to come up with an honest answer, other than "It looked like he needed one." Fortunately she planned to give it to him in a way that no one would know it was her, and so she'd never have to be asked that question.

…

By the time Lady Callows left Kagome was feeling so warm towards her ladyship that she could have kissed her. Though not a word on the subject was said it was obvious that Lady Callows was coming to the Corner Store _specifically_ to show her support after the robbery. Of course no official announcement of the recent troubles had ever been made but everyone with ears and eyes knew about it. It was a mystery and people loved a good mystery. Lady Callows was here to make sure that all of Society (a.k.a. The Rich Snobs Kagome Was Forced To Cater Too Through A Simple Accident Of Birth-Does Anyone Else See Anything Wrong With This System?) knew that theft or not, Kanna's jewelry was still the best in the entire city. Kagome was so grateful. Kagura was not a cruel boss, and she was sympathetic to Kagome's family situation, but even she couldn't afford to pay Kagome's wages if they weren't getting any customers. Kagome may bridle against the system, but she knew that every bracelet sold, every diamond earring bought, was another night in a warm bed and another meal for her and Shippo. She _needed _this job. She knew that if Kagura had to let her go it would mean the end of everything. There wasn't any other work. She'd be back on the street before she could catch her breath.

This was not a new fear for Kagome. She had already discussed it with Miroku. If anything happened to her Miroku had agreed to take Shippo to his father, who was a priest in the north. It wasn't ideal and Miroku hadn't spoken to his old man in many years, but it was better than letting Shippo follow Kagome into the cold and the shadows.

Kagome shuddered. She had already done the homelessness thing. She didn't want to go back. For one thing, it was way too cold.

She was so immersed in her dark thoughts that she almost didn't notice when closing time rolled around. It was only because Kanna came out to remind her that she was supposed to go home twenty minutes ago that Kagome realized just how dark it had gotten outside.

"What time is it?" She asked, startled. Kanna shrugged.

"Late." Was all she said.

"I've got to go." Kagome gasped, reaching under the counter to fetch her coat, hat and scarf. "I forgot that Miroku wasn't here to walk home with me." She glanced nervously out the window at the unlit street.

"Kagura says to take this to Miroku." Kanna said, holding up a small bag. Kagome took it and peeked inside. "It's an orange." Kanna explained. "A fruit from the southern climates. It'll help with his throat."

Kagome knew what an orange was but she'd never had one before. They were expensive. She shrugged and closed the bag. If Kagura said it would be good for Miroku than it probably would be. "I'll make sure he gets it." She promised. Kanna nodded and stood back as Kagome bundled up. She ducked out of the way when the shop girl tried to kiss her cheek and watched, frowning, as Kagome darted out of the warm safety of the store and into the cold, dark outdoors.

…_Whatever._ Kanna thought. _She'll probably be just fine._

…

"Inubasha?" Miroku called stuffily. Inuyasha's ear flicked but he ignored his roommate, focusing on cleaning off his boots. The two men were sitting in the one room apartment they shared, though Miroku wasn't sitting so much as collapsed under his covers like a pathetic ball of fluff. "Inubashaaaa…" Inuyasha resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His run-in with Sango had shaken his confidence so the umbrella was stashed in the very back of the wardrobe he had taken over when he moved in and he was in a tetchy mood.

"What do you want now?" Inuyasha asked.

"K'gom." Miroku muttered. Inuyasha shot him a look.

"Pervert." He snapped. "She'll be back from work soon."

"Nnnhh." Miroku groaned. "S'dark."

"So?" Inuyasha asked, still working on his shoes. He ignored a tiny bundle of nerves that had suddenly collected in his chest.

"So she's abone."

Inuyasha frowned. "She's a bone?" He looked over at Miroku again, suddenly more concerned. Maybe it wasn't a cold, maybe it was something more serious?

"No." Miroku was exhausted from all the talking, but he needed Inuyasha's help so he kept at it. "She's…No one's dere wid her. It's dark. Would you go beet her for be?"

"Yes." Inuyasha pulled his shoes on, grabbed his coat and was out the door before he even knew what he was doing. Half way down the stairs he realized his own actions and suffered a flash of panic before he realized that this was the perfect way to make Kagome trust him. It was a golden opportunity.

And that was definitely the only reason he'd agreed.

By the time Inuyasha was out of the lodging house and headed down the snowy road to meet the fair maiden, he'd even managed to convince himself of this.

…

It was really dark and really cold. Like, really cold. Kagome was pretty sure her ears had already fallen off, because she hadn't been able to feel for about three blocks now. Her nose, judging by the spreading numbness, was next.

And the darkness was not ordinary darkness. It wasn't even ordinary winter darkness, which is just like normal darkness only somehow more so (and dear reader, I've got the seasonal depression poetry to prove it, I'm not just making that up because it sounds pretty). This was scary, walking-home-all-alone-at-night-through-a-bad-neighborhood kind of darkness. This was a no-one-else-is-out-and-if-I-scream-no-one-will-hear-me darkness. This was a I'm-pretty-sure-those-guys-are-following-me darkness.

Kagome started moving faster. The sound of crunching snow behind her grew louder.

Yeah. She was definitely being followed.

_Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit I'm gonna die I'm gonna die and then they're gonna rape me and I hope it's in that order oh shit-_ Was all her mind could think.

Why? Why her? Why did all the bad things always happen to her?

Digging into her pockets she realized with growing dread that she had left her pocketknife at home. It wasn't much but it would have made her feel better to have a blade in her hands. She hadn't fought for many years but as a kid she'd been…good with a knife.

Of course, nowadays she was a proper young woman and she never fought and Miroku had always been there to protect her, so she hadn't felt like she'd be needing her knife.

She cursed her own stupidity. She was going to die, in the cold, all alone (except for her murderers, but she didn't feel like counting them) and it was all because she was forgetful.

_You've got to be fucking kidding me!_ She was so blinded by fear and anger that she forgot to look where she was going. As she turned a corner in a desperate attempt to dodge her pursuers her foot hit a patch of ice and she went flying. The wind was knocked out of her as she hit the ground and as she lay in the road, gasping for air, large man hands descended from the sky and started pulling at her. Panic gripped her and she started to flail, feebly at first but with plenty of gusto. As her breath returned her movements grew in strength and she became more and more frantic. She couldn't see how many assailants were dragging her into an alley but she could see the semi-lit street as it moved further and further away and with it all chances of survival.

"Sorry, miss." A man's voice hissed in her ear. "It's nothing personal, you understand, but the boss thinks you're getting a little too close."

"_GET OFF ME __**RIGHT**__ NOW!_" Kagome bellowed back. She heard at least four men chuckle.

"Not yet, princess." Whispered another man's voice. Kagome's blood ran cold.

She was really going to die.

Or get raped.

Both, probably.

And they were probably going to steal her wallet as well, the bastards.

And it was really, really cold. The cold was beginning to make it hard for her to move.

It was all over.

…

…

…

And then…

One pair of hands that was ripping at her skirt disappeared. She heard a gasp, a cry, an angry shout, and many thumps followed by silence. It was too dark to see but all of a sudden no one was touching her at all. She tried to get up and run but she was shaking too much to move her frozen limbs.

"Oi, Kagome." A familiar voice said. "Can you stand?"

Kagome realized her eyes were closed. She opened them.

"Inuyasha?" She asked softly, staring up at her savior. He was crouching over her with a funny expression on his face. She couldn't understand it's meaning at all.

"Stand up." He ordered. His voice was carefully neutral. She found that, all of a sudden, she had the strength to rise. He held her hand as she brushed off her clothes. She couldn't read the emotion in his eyes. Was it…guilt? She noticed the unconscious bodies of her attackers and completely forgot about the enigma of her friend's hanyou roommate.

"…Private army?" She asked him, taking note of the fancy uniforms that bore no ensignia and the high quality weapons strapped to their belts. They looked far too fancy to be a regular street gang, and they were far too organized to be just random individuals.

Inuyasha shrugged. "I don't know." He said, though he in fact did know. She was right.

"How did you know they're a private army?" She asked him. He frowned at her.

"I just said I don't know wench. Didn't you hear me?"

"Of course I heard you. I could also tell that you knew my guess was correct. Why do you know that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. You're just imagining." Inuyasha was interrupted by a groan. All of a sudden Kagome's curiosity was overridden by the returning sense of horror.

"Take me home Inuyasha." She commanded. He opened his mouth to say something rude about her being a bossy bitch, but one look at her face and he changed his mind. Draping one arm over her shoulders protectively he escorted her out of the dark alley and back into the street, briskly walking back to Kaede's lodging house. Kagome gave a short laugh at his actions.

"Why did you save me?" She asked him as they walked.

"Because you needed me to." He answered gruffly. It was true, after all.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked.

"I'm not." He rolled his eyes, but didn't move his arm. Kagome felt grateful for the warm contact so she let that question slide.

"Why were those men trying to hurt me?" She asked him. He stiffened.

"Because you were a girl, alone, at night and walking down an empty street." He said coldly.

"That's not the reason and you know it." Kagome snapped at him. "They said something about me being a threat to their boss." She noticed the way Inuyasha started to look at her from the corner of his eye when she said that.

"I don't know anything about that wench." Inuyasha snapped back. "Look, we're home."

Kagome pulled out of his grasp and looked him squarely in the eye.

"Thank you for saving me." She told him as calmly as she could. "But you're lying and I'm not sure how, I don't know why, but I'm pretty damn sure that somehow this night was, in some way, your fault."

Inuyasha remained silent. It was true after all. All of a sudden Kagome smiled at him.

"But I'll make you a deal." She said. "If you promise to keep me and Shippo safe from those men I promise I won't tell Detective Sango when I find out what you're hiding."

Inuyasha couldn't help it. He smirked.

"You're plucky." He told her. She smirked back.

"You ever call me that again," she said coolly, still smirking. "And I'll pluck your left eye out of its socket." She held out her hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Inuyasha knew that he shouldn't. He knew that it would probably come back to bite him later on, but he really couldn't help himself. This girl was, in her own special way, very charming. Before he had time to think of a reason to say no he was already shaing her hand, sealing the deal.

"Thank you, Inuyasha." Kagome sighed deeply. She reached up and gave him a hup, which only served to confuse him even more. "Thank you so much!" And with that she ran inside. Inuyasha watched her go. As soon as she was in the door he shook himself, horrified, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Had he been bamboozled?

Sure, he'd been trying to think of a way to get her to trust him, but he had _nothing to do_ with her attackers! Well…maybe not nothing. Inuyasha winced. He should have known better than to move into the same lodging house as Kagura's only employees, but he hadn't expected his enemy to sink so low as to actually attack an innocent young woman. Inuyasha knew that his presence in the house was what had directed the evil intentions Kagome's way. The attack tonight had probably been a message-_See what happens when you let people get close?_ But gods damn it, he _hadn't_ let Kagome get close! She was doing it all on her own! She had some sort of magic talent for it! How else would she have known exactly what book to get at the library, exactly where to go when the jewelry was stolen? How else would she have known to ask about Sesshomaru? How else would she have known he was lying?

The girl was a total mystery to him. He didn't know what was going through her mind, but one thing was for sure. He had to protect her. That was the only way to make sure _she_ protected _him_. And if that meant facing off with Naraku once more, well, all the better.

He just prayed that Kagome was the sort of person to keep her word.

…

_And so ends another chapter. The plot is starting to pick up now! _

_Is it confusing? I'm worried about it being confusing. I have a tendency to go overboard with the hinting, and it can get really confusing sometimes._

_Please review!_

…_actually, on that note…_

…

_Hello?_

…

…

_Review Lion?_

…

_Oh, come on, don't be like this. I said I was sorry!_

…

…

_Please come out? I still love you!_

_**Mew?**_

_Of course I still love you! How could you even think that? I missed you so much!_

_**Mrow!**_

_I know, I know, it's just…life was kinda, y'know, life._

_**Roar!**_

_I promise to take you with me next time._

_**Roar!**_

_You and me, baby. Together we'll rule the world._

_**ROOOOAAAARRRRRR!**_

_The Review Lion says that if you want a nice spot in the new world order you'd better review!_


	7. A Day At The Graves

_**A special thanks to…**_

_**waterlit…**_

_Disclaimer:_

_Lawyer #1: Guys! Guys! Jenny's back!_

_(Everyone except for Pwale and Al run outside to see Jenny. She is staggering up the steps, hollow-eyed and limping like a weary warrior)_

_Inuyasha: Jenny! Where have you been?_

_Jenny: *gasping* Where is she? That bitch…I'm gonna kill her!_

_Sesshomaru: Jenny? What has she done to you?_

_(Jenny focuses in on the anime characters. She grabs Inuyasha's hand and holds it close as her legs give out under her)_

_Jenny: Inuyasha…run…no matter what happens, you mustn't let her own you! _

_Inuyasha (tears in his eyes): I won't! I promise I won't! Just hold on, Jenny!_

_Jenny (shakes her fist at the sky): Hear that, you Author Devil! YOU DON'T OWN THEM!_

_Pwale (appearing suddenly): Jenny, you are __**such**__ a drama queen. But I'll admit it; I do not own Inuyasha and co._

_**A/N: IN THIS STORY INUYASHA IS A HANYOU; SHIPPO IS A HUMAN, WHILE THE KAGURA/KANNA PAIR ARE…SHALL WE SAY, UNDISCLOSED. I MIGHT ADDRESS THE HANYOU THING, I MIGHT NOT. I HAVEN'T MADE UP MY MIND YET. JUST THOUGHT I SHOULD MAKE THIS CLEAR.**_

_**The Corner Store**_

_Chapter Seven_

_**A Day At The Graves**_

_By Pwale_

Shippo was poking Kagome. She groaned and rolled over in bed, annoyed to be awake on her day off. She pulled the covers over her head as Shippo prodded her in the side. It was Sunday and all the shops in the city were closed (well, maybe not _all._ But all the fancy ones were). She wanted to sleep in, especially after her little "adventure" last night, but Shippo wasn't having any of it.

"Kagome, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake-" He whined loudly. Kagome was just about to peek out from under the covers and ask him to let her sleep when there was a harsh bang and an angry hanyou pounded on her door.

"Shut up kid!" Inuyasha bellowed. "Some of us are still trying to sleep!" Kagome rolled her eyes.

"He's in my apartment, not yours." She snapped, knowing that he could hear her perfectly well with his enhanced hearing. She sat up, angry and wide-awake. "Mind your own business."

"He's too loud!" Inuyasha shouted back.

"Actually," Kagome heard Miroku say, though his voice was muffled. "I think you're the one being too loud."

"Kagome!" Shippo suddenly gasped. "Who hit you?"

"Eh?" Kagome jumped out of her bed and darted to the small mirror hanging on the wall. She winced as she examined her face. Her eye was a painter's palette of red, purple and yellow. She winced as she touched the edges, which were tinged green. At least the swelling was minimal. She didn't even _remember_ getting a blow to the face. It must have happened when they were dragging her into the alley. She wouldn't have been able to feel much since her face was so numb. She frowned and tried to recall if she'd gotten hit in any other places but the memories were jumbled and confused.

"Kagome…" Shippo whimpered, upset. Kagome had been too tired to get changed completely when she'd stumbled in last night. She had just taken off her gown and fallen into bed next to the already-sleeping Shippo, leaving only her slip on. She pulled at the neck of her slip and peered under her dress at her body, looking for any more injuries. She groaned at the sight.

"Dammit." She muttered. Her stomach was mostly bruise, but the color was already darkening to purple so it couldn't be that bad. Her legs, on the other hand, were scratched and scraped and angry red and, now that she was awake enough, stinging like mad. She regretted not washing up last night. It looked like the cuts on her legs had gotten infected. "I'll be fine, Shippo." She tried to comfort her distressed nephew as she hiked up her skirt to her waist in order get a better look at her injuries. "Don't worry about me, it's only-"

**SMASH-BANG**

Kagome's head flew up as the door to her apartment flew open. She gaped in horror as the door crashed into the wall and bounced back, only to be pushed open again by the furious Inuyasha. Kagome barely registered Miroku peering anxiously at her from the hall. She was completely focused on her white-haired neighbor who was eyeing her up and down.

"…Did you just break down my door?" She managed to hiss after a few seconds of shocked silence. Inuyasha shrugged.

"What's wrong with your legs?" He asked her. Kagome looked down at her legs and realized just how high her skirt was. Cheeks flaming she shoved her slip down and wrapped her arms around herself in a pathetic attempt at modesty.

"Kagome," Miroku asked from the hallway, his cold better after a good nights rest. "What on earth happened?"

"There was an incident." Kagome told him and Shippo, her eyes softening. "But I'm fine, Inuyasha got there on time." She turned her gaze back to the man in question and her eyes narrowed into an angry glare. "But what I want to know _right now_ is why you just broke down my door?" She hissed dangerously. Inuyasha shrugged again and crossed his arms over his bare chest. Kagome ignored the fact that he apparently slept in his breeches only, and that he was really…built…though she did take note of the light scar over his heart. That was suspicious. Something glinted in the light and she realized that he also wore a ring on his right hand. It was a simple silver band with a teardrop of…what was it? It caught the light and shimmered in such a way that Kagome was unable to even identify what color it was. Kagome recognized it as black opal. The ring seemed familiar…had she seen it somewhere before?

"Feh." Inuyasha snorted. "It sounded like you were hurt."

"That doesn't explain why you _broke down my door_."

"Sure it does. You were hurt and I promised to protect you."

"How is _breaking down my door_ protecting me?"

"When did you make that promise?" Miroku asked, confused. Last time he'd checked they hadn't even liked each other and, judging from the way they were glaring at each other angrily right now, that hadn't changed.

"Last night, pervert." Inuyasha snapped. "And it is _too_ protecting you, because what if you were hurt and couldn't get to the door?"

"I have a black eye and some scratches! I'm not an invalid! I am _perfectly_ capable of opening a door!"

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"Well, gee, maybe by _knocking_?"

"I don't think I like your tone, wench."

"I don't think I like the way you _broke down my door_, jerk!"

Their fight was brought to a sudden halt when Shippo scrunched up his eyes, collapsed on the floor, opened his mouth as wide as it would go and started screaming. The three adults all jumped, even Miroku, and turned to stare at the four year old, flabbergasted. Kagome was especially shocked. Shippo was usually a very tolerant child; she couldn't remember the last time he'd thrown a tantrum. She winced as her eye twinged. Then again her injuries were probably a little much for her young nephew to deal with first thing in the morning. He was probably frightened and confused and now people were shouting. Kagome swooped down and gathered him up in her arms before carrying him back to their bed. He cried into her chest and she whispered soothing words to him, softly rubbing his back. The two men frowned in the doorway, but for different reasons. Inuyasha didn't approve of comforting a hysteric child-a good thump was what the kid needed. Miroku was distressed because he wanted to go in and help his friend but he was unable to.

"Inuyasha." Miroku whispered. "Go in there and comfort them." Inuyasha turned his glare on Miroku.

"_What_?" Inuyasha hissed back, quietly so that neither Shippo nor Kagome would be able to hear. "You have _got _to be kidding me! _You_ go in there and comfort her if you feel that bad."

"I can't." Miroku sighed. "I'm not allowed into any girl's apartment, not even Kagome's. If Kaede came by and saw me in there she'd kick me out into the street before I had a chance to explain."

"…Did you do something?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously. Miroku frowned.

"There may have been a few…_indiscretions_, but I honestly think the good Kaede has been overreacting. Still, Kagome needs someone to rub her back and I can't go in there to do it so I want you to."

"No fucking way!"

"Inuyasha, _please_. She's hurt."

"_No fucking way_, pervert!"

"I can _hear_ you, you know." Kagome rolled her eyes. "You two aren't exactly discreet, are you?"

"Kagome!" Shippo bawled. "_Why_?"

No one noticed it, but Inuyasha visibly flinched.

"I don't know, sweetie." Kagome told him. "But you don't have to worry about it because it won't happen again."

Shippo gulped, fat tears rolling down his cheeks and snot dripping from his nose. Kagome reached over to the small set of drawers by her bed and started searching for a handkerchief. "Why not?" He wanted to know.

"Because Inuyasha promised not to let them hurt me." Kagome explained. Shippo looked over at Inuyasha and immediately started wailing again.

"Kagome! I don't want you to die!"

"Oi!" Inuyasha snapped. "Watch your mouth kid. No one is going to die!" Shippo just cried louder until finally Inuyasha couldn't take it anymore. He stormed into the apartment and reached the bed before Kagome had a chance to react. She gasped in outrage as he reached down and pulled Shippo from her grasp, holding him up in the air so that they were at eye-level. "Kid." Inuyasha snapped. "Calm the fuck down."

"You're going to let the bad men hurt her!" Shippo accused, his fear and grief immediately transforming into anger. He started twisting in Inuyasha's grasp, trying to reach the hanyou's wrist so that he could bite it.

"I am not!" Inuyasha yelled. "I said I'd protect her so I'll fucking protect her. Stop crying!"

"Let him go!" Kagome demanded, reaching out for Shippo. "You're completely out of control!"

"I am not, wench. You're spoiling him!"

"How _dare_ you?" Kagome stood up again so that she could poke Inuyasha angrily in the chest. "How _dare_ you waltz in here, break down my door-"

"Oh, beat a dead horse, why don't you?"

"-You yell at me, you bully my nephew, you-"

"Maybe I should have just _let_ those men kill you last night, huh? Would you have liked that, princess?" Inuyasha dropped Shippo so that he could shove Kagome away from him. She shoved him back.

"Maybe I would prefer it to being protected by a jerk like you!" Kagome shouted. Inuyasha's face darkened.

"This stupid arrangement was _your_ idea, wench. Not mine!" He reminded her.

Miroku was torn. He wanted to go in and help his friend, but he knew he wasn't allowed in her room. He wanted to make sure Shippo was all right, but he didn't want to get into a fight with his roommate. He wanted to get everyone to calm down, but he really had no idea what was going on. He threw his hands up in frustration.

"What are you two talking about?" He asked, but they were too busy glaring at each other to bother answering.

"You'd better start being nicer to me, Inuyasha." Kagome said darkly. "You might hurt my feelings enough that I get a little…_loose-lipped_."

"Feh." Inuyasha snorted disdainfully. "You don't know anything yet." His ears flattened as Kagome suddenly smirked in his face.

"Considering you just admitted that you're hiding something I don't think it'll take me too long to figure out what it is." She whispered so that only he could hear.

"I did not admit anything!" Inuyasha argued, his eyes narrowing fiercely. _How'd she do that?_ He asked himself furiously. She was already getting under his skin and he hadn't even had breakfast.

"Whatever you say, vandal." Kagome just continued to smirk at him.

"I am not a vandal!"

"You _broke down my door_!"

"Oh for the love of-are you really going to start that again?"

"_There had better be a good explanation for this."_ A voice from the depths of a fiery hell sounded. Shippo gasped and darted under the bed. As Kaede stepped into the apartment she even looked like a dread dragon. Shippo could practically see the flames coming out of her nostrils. She had a broom in her hand and a look that would have sent the Four Riders of the Apocalypse back home in tears. Kagome and Inuyasha immediately took a step away from her, coming flush against the mattress. Inuyasha turned his head slightly so that he could look behind without taking his eyes off the landlady. There was a window directly at his back, but it wasn't big enough for him to fit through if immediate escape became necessary. Since he was still under a geas (Inuyasha took every promise he made extremely seriously. Maybe a little _too_ seriously) to protect Kagome he decided that if Kaede made any sudden movements he could grab the girl, throw her over his shoulder and then charge the evil drag—the angry old woman. Hopefully he would catch her by surprise and the two of them would escape with only minimal damage.

Kagome was thinking somewhat along the same lines, only she had decided to grab Shippo and throw him to Miroku and then shove Inuyasha at Kaede, sacrificing him so that she and her nephew would have time to escape to safety.

"This sort of behavior is completely unacceptable and I _will_ not have it in this house!" Kaede bellowed. "Is that understood?"

Kagome and Inuyasha stared down at their feet like guilty schoolchildren who had been caught pulling hair and running with scissors by the meanest teacher.

"Young lady, what on earth do you think you're wearing? That is hardly appropriate. This is a respectable house and you will put some clothes on_ this instant_." Kaede ordered Kagome.

Kagome opened her mouth to protest that she hadn't _meant_ to be caught in such a state of undress, but thought better of it and just nodded mutely. Kaede was momentarily satisfied and swung around to glare at Miroku, who was still hesitating on the threshold.

"And what do you have to say for yourself?" Kaede wanted to know. Miroku looked panicked.

"I didn't go in!" He protested. "I stayed out in the hall like a good boy! What did I do?"

"Why are you still standing here?" Kaede snapped nastily. "You should have already fetched the ice. If you had you would have found Detective Sango waiting in the kitchen and Kagome would already be in the capable hands of the police. Honestly, she should have reported the incident last night!"

Eyes widened and pulses quickened at the thought of last night's attack becoming a police matter. Kagome and Inuyasha threw startled looks at one another, animosity forgotten. Neither of them wanted to deal with police, though for very different reasons.

"Most importantly," Kaede continued. "You should have protected your friend from her attacker, but instead of defending her you linger in the hall like a helpless child!"

"What attacker?" Miroku was confused but Kaede had already moved on to the person she was the most displeased with.

"You." She hissed, marching straight up to Inuyasha and jabbing him in the chest so that he fell back onto the bed. "You will stay right there and you will not move until the detective says you may. You will never come back to this house, do you understand me? No lodger of mine will suffer this treatment!"

It took Kagome a minute to figure out what Kaede was talking about, and she couldn't help burst out laughing.

"Oh dear." She said. "Kaede, no, Inuyasha's not the one who hit me. In fact, he's the one who saved me."

Kaede eyed her suspiciously.

"You don't have to lie, dear." Kaede told her. "I won't let him hurt you anymore, you'll be quite safe."

"_Excuse_ me?" Inuyasha gasped in outrage. "I don't-I wouldn't-I'm not that sort of—I can't believe you—gah!" He jumped up to his feet and towered over Kaede menacingly. His scowl was darker than a thundercloud. "I don't beat women!" He shouted.

Kaede hit him over the face with the side of her broom. "Don't try to threaten me, you scoundrel!" She bellowed. "I'll teach you some respect!"

"What-ow!" Inuyasha tried to defend himself from her attacks, but she was quick with the broom and wielded it like a staff. "Ow! Would you stop-gah—knock that off!"

"Uh…" Miroku turned to see Detective Sango standing behind him. "I heard noises so I came to see what was going on…what _is_ going on?"

"Kagome was assaulted on her way home last night." Miroku started to explain. Sango gasped, horrified.

"Is she-"

"She's roughed up a bit, but she'll be fine. Inuyasha got there in time. But apparently they made a deal that Inuyasha has to protect her."

"Oh?" Sango's eyebrows shot up and Miroku nodded, a small smile growing on his lips. "I thought they hated each other."

"Hate, love, attraction, it's all the same thing." Miroku said serenely.

"Then what's all this?" Sango gestured at Kaede smacking Inuyasha with her broom. Kagome was laughing too hard to stop her and Inuyasha was desperately shouting at Kaede to get away from him.

"Earlier it sounded like Kagome was in pain and she wouldn't open the door so Inuyasha broke it down."

"Oh. Kagome didn't like that very much, did she?"

"No. They started fighting and that's when Kaede came in. She didn't give anyone time to explain, and jumped to conclusions."

Sango looked over at Kagome. "And she thought that sunrise was Inuyasha's doing?"

"Sunrise?" Miroku looked at her, confused.

"The black eye." Sango explained. "With colors like that it sort of looks like a sunrise, don't you think?"

"Stop hitting me!" Inuyasha bellowed, shielding his fragile dog-ears from the broom handle. Kagome decided that his suffering had gone on long enough and placed a hand on Kaede's shoulder.

"Kaede, he really didn't hurt me. I was walking home alone last night and some men…caught me by surprise. I was really lucky that Inuyasha came by at that moment. He saved me." Kagome explained, glossing over the details. There was no need for anyone to become any more upset than they already were, especially not Shippo.

Kaede eyed her suspiciously, obviously not believing her words 100%. Kagome tried to smile reassuringly, though her smile turned into a pained grimace when the movement caused her eye to start aching again. Kaede softened.

"You sit down, sweetie." Kaede ordered. "And I'll go fetch my salve." She glared at Inuyasha (who was backed into the corner) one last time before marching from the room. She passed the broken door without even glancing at it and handed her broom to Sango. "Detective," Kaede said. "If he makes any sudden movements I'm trusting you to smack him with this."

"Yes ma'am." Sango said in a meek voice before she could stop herself. The landlady nodded once and hurried away. Miroku and Sango watched her leave and both relaxed visibly when she disappeared down the stairs at the end of the hall.

"That woman is terrifying." Miroku said.

"Feh." Inuyasha grumbled. He straightened up and brushed off his clothes, trying to regain some semblance of dignity. Kagome smirked, ignoring the pain in her eye.

"You just got beaten up by an old lady." Kagome teased him. Inuyasha threw her a nasty look.

"Kagome, do you want to tell me what happened?" Sango asked, still standing in the hall. "I might be able to help. I am an officer of the law, you know."

"No, thank you." Kagome shook her head. "I don't want this to become a big deal. It was a one time thing, really." Sango frowned and for a moment it seemed like she was going to argue but Shippo chose that moment to reemerge from his hiding spot under the bed.

"Kagome, maybe we should stay home today?" The little boy asked hesitantly. "It's really cold outside."

"Don't worry about me, Shippo." Kagome told him, swooping down to ruffle his hair. "I'll be fine. Hill Street isn't far at all."

"Oh." Sango took an unconscious step into the room. "Were you…are you going out today? I was hoping we could…" She trailed off, blushing. She had been hoping to visit, maybe have tea and cookies with her new friends. Her only friends, actually. Sango didn't socialize much.

"We're going to visit Shippo's mom." Kagome explained with a smile. "You're welcome to come if you want. We were going to bring some hot cocoa and get some flowers on the way. We try to visit her grave at least once a month."

"Oh. I'm so sorry." Sango told Shippo. He shrugged. People often apologized when they found out his mother was dead. He didn't know how to respond. What did they have to be sorry for? No one had killed her. She'd died from the summer smog and the damp that seeped into her lungs. It happened sometimes and while he didn't like it, there wasn't anything he could do about it. He had a good home here with Kagome and he was loved and treated kindly, which was more than he could say for most boys his age with his circumstances. He didn't understand why people always apologized.

Shippo was very mature for his age. Kagome sometimes worried that he was growing up too fast, but Miroku always comforted her by reminded her of Shippo's elaborately developed fantasy world.

"Wench!" Inuyasha barked. "No way you're going out in the cold and wet with injuries like those." He pointed at her legs, which were still covered in angry red marks. "You'll catch an infection and die and then your ghost will haunt me because you will find some way to make it my fault."

"Good to see you know me so well, Inuyasha." Kagome rolled her eyes. "Now get out so that I can get dressed before Kaede comes back and yells at me." Inuyasha eyed her and crossed his arms. All she was wearing was her slip and it didn't leave much to the imagination but…well, he had a promise to keep.

"It's not like you're going to get naked wench." Inuyasha snapped. "You're just going to be putting on more clothes. I'm staying—ow!" Inuyasha clutched the back of his head and turned to glare at Sango, who was wielding the broom like a staff. He could already feel a bump rising where she had hit him.

"Out." The detective ordered.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Inuyasha shouted. Sango just glared at him.

"Kaede left me in charge." Sango reminded him. "Now get out of this room before I throw you out."

"I'd like to see you try." Inuyasha snorted derisively. Sango dropped the broom and reached for the billy club at her hip. His eyes widened. "I'm going! I'm going!" Inuyasha said quickly as he fled. The door was still broken but Sango fitted it back into the frame as neatly as she could in order to give Kagome as much privacy as possible.

"Thanks Sango." Kagome said gratefully. "I don't know how I'm going to handle both Miroku and Inuyasha by myself. You should really come with us today."

"Are they both coming with you to the cemetery?" Sango asked. She settled on the bed and watched as Kagome started sorting through the clothes in her chest at the foot of the mattress. Shippo was keeping an eye on the door, on guard for any peeping perverts.

"Miroku always comes." Kagome shrugged. "He says it's a great place to meet sad and vulnerable girls. And considering that I made Inuyasha promise to protect me, I don't he's going to let me out of his sight." She sighed as she selected a simple blue gown. It was wool and warm and would keep her safe from the snow and the slush. "I'm beginning to regret that promise."

"Why _did_ you make him promise to protect you?" Sango asked, trying to keep her tone of voice light. She was actually a little upset about this, though she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because she felt that women needed to protect themselves and she had thought Kagome felt the same way. What if Kagome was just another girl waiting for a prince charming to come and rescue her? Then Sango would be forgotten once again as soon as a husband came into the picture. She stifled a sigh. She'd seen it happen again and again. She'd meet a nice, interesting young woman, they'd become friends, and then her friend would get married and lose all interest in their relationship.

"I was scared and it seemed like a good idea at the time." Kagome shrugged. "Plus it'll be—Shippo, can they hear us?" She asked her nephew. Shippo darted to the door and pressed his ear to one of the cracks.

"Nah." He said. "Kaede's back and she's scolding them."

"Good." Kagome turned back towards Sango, pulling the blue dress over her head. "Plus it'll be a good way to keep tabs on Inuyasha. He's definitely hiding something and normally I wouldn't care but I get the feeling that it's something important and somehow we're all going to get involved. Do you know what I mean?"

Sango nodded. She thought about his behavior at the store yesterday. Inuyasha was definitely hiding something.

"He seems to be taking it pretty seriously though." Sango said thoughtfully. Kagome winced as the collar of her dress brushed over her eye.

"Yeah." She agreed. "I wasn't expecting that. It might become a problem."

Kaede knocked on the door very gently, and shut her eyes as the whole panel went toppling to the floor. She cast a nasty look at Inuyasha and stepped over the felled door as daintily as she could. She had a small sealed earthen jar in one hand and a large roll of bandages in another. "You boys go into your apartment and don't you dare come out!" The old woman ordered. Miroku and Inuyasha, both looking properly chastened, ducked into their apartment and shut the door. "Detective, would you mind guarding the door? We don't want any so-called gentlemen coming by."

"Sure." Sango went to the door.

"Now Kagome," Kaede ordered. "Pull up your skirts so that I can help those poor bony legs of yours."

"Kaede, I really don't think this is necessary." Kagome said wearily. "It's just some scratches and-"

"I know what I saw! Those 'scratches' of yours are already inflamed. If they get infected your legs will start to rot and the poison will enter your blood stream and your limbs will fall off and you will die."

Shippo's distress mounted but Kagome was just exasperated. "I really don't think I'm going to contract gangrene from some scraped up legs." But she pulled up her skirts and allowed Kaede to rub the homemade salve into her wounds anyway. Better safe then sorry, she figured. She didn't even argue when Kaede started wrapping the bandages around her legs. In the end she was enclosed in white linen from her ankles to mid-thighs. She got to her feet and took a few steps. It was hard to walk but was manageably so and the pain was already starting to recede. She smiled at her landlady. "Thank you Kaede." She said. "What do I owe you?" Kaede shook her head.

"Nothing, dear." The landlady said as she gathered her supplies. "I just expect you to take care of the damages."

"I'll make sure Inuyasha fixes the door." Kagome promised with a wince.

"And my chair." Kaede reminded her.

"Yes, and your chair. Of course." Kagome threw Shippo a dark look. At least he had the decency to look embarrassed. "Well, we should probably get going if we want to get to Hill Street while it's still early." Also before Kaede could add anything else to the list of repairs.

"Of course. Don't let me keep you." Kaede nodded and took her leave. Once she was gone Kagome heaved a sigh of relief and hobbled out of the room to knock on the door across the hall. Inuyasha yanked it open almost immediately and glared down at her. Kagome chose to ignore his animosity.

"We're leaving soon." She told him. "Are you coming with us?"

"Keh. Of course, wench. I promised-"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it Inuyasha." Kagome leaned to peer past him. "Miroku?" She called. "Are you ready?" Miroku's head appeared over his bed.

"Almost!" He said, digging around under the mattress. "I'm just trying to find my gloves…I know I put them somewhere down here…"

"Well, I guess I'll just head out." Sango said and started to walk away but Kagome stopped her.

"Really, Sango." Kagome said. "You should come with us! I promise it's not all depressing and sad, and the graveyard is actually really beautiful this time of year. And afterwards we're planning to go out for cake. It'll give us time to get to know each other better, too." Kagome offered up a tentative smile. Over the years she had found herself in much the same boat Sango was in. All her female friends got married and disappeared from her life, no matter how close they had been. Between Shippo and work Kagome didn't get many chances to make new friends and she didn't want to let this one pass her up. Sango smiled back.

"Please come, Sango." Miroku added, coming to stand beside Inuyasha. "We'd all appreciate a chance to get to know you better." Kagome cast him an encouraging look. He'd said something to a pretty girl that could only be taken as perverted if you thought about it too much! This was definite progress.

"All right." The detective agreed. "I'd like that."

None of them noticed the frustrated look Inuyasha gave her. _Seriously? They're __**friends**__ now? Are they __**trying**__ to make this more difficult for me?_

Well, he knew that Sango was actually trying to make his job more difficult. But she didn't know that, and she didn't know that he knew what she knew and…Inuyasha shook his head. Now he was just confusing himself.

"Put on a coat, wench." Inuyasha ordered Kagome. "It's cold outside."

…

There is something ethereal about a cemetery. There is something otherworldly about the place where the living meet the dead. It is a halfway point between two realms.

This cemetery, the place where Shippo's mother was buried, was a beautiful cemetery. Her headstone was simple and plain, nothing fancy. No angels or religious symbols or scantily clad maidens. Just a normal headstone. But it was underneath a cherry tree that bloomed sweet and full in the spring and the spot had a view of the duck pond that was always kept well stocked with carp and minnows. In the summer it was a lovely spot to have a picnic and in the winter it was a splendid place to take a walk.

Shippo was introducing Sango to his mother and Miroku, who was taken with the female cop more than he'd like to admit, was sticking close beside her. Kagome and Inuyasha were strolling down to the duck pond. Both of them felt that they needed to have a conversation about the details of their arrangement and neither wanted the others listening in.

Now if only one of them would speak. Kagome sighed. One of them had to be the first, but she wanted it to be him. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say yet.

Inuyasha watched her from the corner of his eyes. _What's she thinking?_ He wondered. She wasn't looking at him, instead she was watching the path so that she didn't trip. This gave him the opportunity to examine her face carefully. He inwardly winced as he took in the full glory of her abused eye. He just knew it was his fault she was injured. He wasn't sure how it was his fault but it was way too much of a coincidence for Naraku's private army to be attacking his neighbor. It had to be his fault. This made him feel terribly guilty. He hadn't meant for her to get hurt. He hadn't meant for _anyone_ to get hurt. That was the whole reason he was-

"Kaede says you have to fix my door." Kagome said, interrupting his self-pity session.

"Keh." He crossed his arms and matched his pace to hers. "Fine. I'll pick up some wood when we go back." Kagome nodded.

"You broke down my door." She said for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"I thought you might be in trouble." Inuyasha said, a little more honestly than he'd meant to.

"Shippo was with me." She pointed out. Inuyasha threw her a look, telling her exactly what he thought of Shippo's capabilities as a protector. Kagome couldn't help but smile a tiny smile. "He's not as useless as you think he is."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Inuyasha scoffed. He sighed. This was getting them nowhere. "Look, wench, I said I'd protect you."

"You did." Kagome agreed softly. She didn't know where he was going with this but she had a feeling that she wasn't going to like it.

"And I'm going to. But I need you to cooperate, I can't protect you if you don't trust me." Inuyasha felt another stab of guilt as he took advantage of her vulnerability, but he couldn't think of any other way to gain her trust. And she had to trust him. She was too close to…well, everything. She had somehow managed to make herself the center of all that was wrong in his life and she didn't even know it.

If he thought about it too hard he'd get confused.

"What do you want from me?" Kagome asked suspiciously.

"Honesty." Inuyasha said the first thing that came to his mind. "You need to tell me the truth."

Kagome thought about this. Well, she wouldn't tell him the _whole_ truth _all_ the time, but she could stop lying to him. She just wouldn't tell him everything. "Okay." She said. "I can do that."

"And I need to know where you are and what you're doing and who you're doing it with." Inuyasha continued. Kagome tossed him an annoyed glance.

"What are you, my father?" She scoffed. Inuyasha growled at her.

"You're the one who needs protection, wench." He reminded her. "You think those guys are going to just give up? They'll be back, and when they are you'll need me."

"I'll agree to being accountable to you on one condition." Kagome said, rolling her eyes. "You have to tell me who those men were."

Inuyasha stiffened. "I don't know." He said.

"I believe I've told you this before, but I'll say it again. You are a terrible liar." Kagome giggled. "Just tell me. You can leave out anything you want, I'll find out eventually. Just tell me the important bits." Inuyasha gaped at her. He couldn't! He couldn't tell her! She knew too much already! If she learned any more she was sure to expose him!

…Then again…she had already promised not to tell Sango anything she discovered…and maybe if he threw her a bone now she'd let other things slide in the future.

Inuyasha didn't really believe this but he was desperate to keep her from the truth. No matter what, Kagome couldn't be allowed to find out!

"They work for a…a man. An evil man who does evil things. Black market stuff mostly. Drugs, slaves, and-"

"Jewelry?" Kagome interrupted. Inuyasha gulped. She was smart too. _Damn. I'm really screwed with this one._

"Yeah."

"So he attacked me because I work for Kagura?"

"Yeah."

"And because I'm your neighbor."

"Yeah-wait, what?"

"Well that explains why he thought I was getting to close." Kagome eyed Inuyasha. "You must have really pissed him off. And then I show up. Not only am I your new neighbor, not only do I work in one of the jewelry stores that's been hit, not _only_ am I friends with Kanna who is a key witness to the case but I've also been seen out and about with the detective investigating the thefts. I've even showed up to crime scenes with her." Kagome nodded thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. "If I was a big bad crime lord I'd be pretty suspicious of me too."

Inuyasha was frozen where he stood. Kagome realized that he had stopped moving and turned to face him. One look at his shocked face told her all she needed to know.

"So I'm right?" She asked. "This evil man is the same one who's stealing the replicas, the same one who stole the originals, the same one who killed that woman, and I'm guessing he's…what? An old love rival? An arch nemesis? An ex-boss? An ex-boyfriend, maybe?" OK, that last one was a joke, but Kagome was trying to keep this conversation on the light side. On the other hand, she didn't know Inuyasha well enough to rule it out quite yet.

All of a sudden Kagome had her back against a tree and there was pain exploding in her abdomen. She gasped as her bruised belly protested such rough handling. Inuyasha didn't notice her discomfort. He was busy looking around to make sure that no one could see them. When he was satisfied that they were properly hidden by the trees and that no one was near he turned back to her. His eyes flashed and Kagome fell still. He looked…wicked.

"Kagome." He said, his voice low and heavy. "Listen to me this time. I will protect you. I will keep you safe. But you need to keep your nose out of this, it isn't any of your business and it's dangerous." He leaned in even closer so that his lips almost brushed against her ears. Kagome shivered. _Weird._ She thought hazily. _I don't feel cold._ "And if you value your life _at all_," he whispered. "You won't mention the replicas. Ever again. No one is supposed to know they're replicas. As far as the evil man knows, the stolen pieces are the originals. If he finds out they aren't he'll want to know why." Inuyasha pulled back just a tiny bit so that he could look her in the eye. "How do you know, Kagome?" He asked.

Kagome bit her lip. She didn't want to tell him. She was beginning to feel like a poker player without any cards being called on a bluff. Inuyasha saw her hesitation and his hands tightened painfully. He ignored the tiny whimper she wasn't able to hold back. "How do you know, Kagome?" He repeated.

"Kanna knew." She whispered. "Kanna could tell."

"How?"

"I don't know, Kanna never tells us anything."

"I think Kanna told you more than she should have." He hissed. He could feel the rage boiling under the surface. It wouldn't take much for him to lose control at this point. If Naraku found out that the stolen jewelry was fake…Inuyasha didn't even want to think about it.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome breathed. His gaze darted up to meet her one good eye.

"What?" He snapped.

"You're hurting me. Let go before I hurt you back." She hissed. All of a sudden Inuyasha became aware of their current situation and he jumped away from her, releasing her arms so quickly she almost lost balance. He stared at her in horror as she rubbed her arms and glared at him angrily.

"Uh…" He blinked. He had hurt her. "…Sorry." Kagome threw him a disgusted look.

"Some protector you're turning out to be." She snapped. "At least the bad guys were straight forward. You're just confusing."

"I said I was sorry!" Inuyasha was immediately defensive. "What more do you want? You've got to do what I say if you want to stay safe!" Kagome's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Was that a threat?" She asked. His own eyes widened.

"What? No!" Inuyasha was dangerously close to erupting in fury now, he could feel it. He needed to calm down. "Look, just…just trust me on this, okay?"

"…Fine." If asked Kagome couldn't explain why she decided to trust him. Maybe it was because her gut was telling her that he truly didn't want to see any harm come to her. She had always relied on her instincts and they had always led her right before. "I don't want to fight any more."

"That's fine with me." Inuyasha shrugged. "You started it anyway."

"I did not!" Kagome gasped, scandalized. The two of them started walking back towards the duck pond, unconsciously drawing closer together and walking in perfect time.

"Feh. Of course you did." Inuyasha rolled his eyes for her benefit.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

Miroku and Sango watched the pair as they circled the duck pond. Even though they were still on the hill with Shippo they could hear snatches of the heated argument between the two companions.

"You know," Sango started to say slowly. "If I didn't know them I'd say they were a couple having a lover's spat."

"They do give that impression, don't they?" Miroku couldn't hide his total mystification. "I don't get it. She's _never_ acted this way before."

"She doesn't like boys?" Sango asked curiously.

"No, I mean, she does, but…she's always very careful and keeps her dates away from Shippo. Well, except for one guy, but he wasn't a date so much as a stalker."

"Kagome was stalked?" Sango's curiosity transformed into horror. Miroku shrugged.

"A little bit. But that was when Sota was still around and he sent Koga packing." Miroku grinned at Sango. "Don't worry about Kagome, she's more than capable of taking care of herself." He moved closer. "More importantly, why don't you tell me a little more about yourself? It's not every day I get to talk to a pretty cop."

Sango was unable to stop a blush creeping over her features but she was saved from further embarrassment by Shippo, who stuck his head in-between them. "Yes you do, Miroku." Shippo pointed out. "Sango comes by every day now."

"Ah, well…" Miroku coughed. "I suppose you have a point, Shippo."

"Why are you both blushing?" Shippo asked innocently.

…well, _probably_ innocently. But like I said, Shippo is very mature for his age and it's anyone's guess how much he knows about the nuances of human courtship rituals.

"Why don't you go ask Kagome and Inuyasha if they're ready to go get lunch?" Sango asked brightly. Shippo cheered up immediately at the thought of food.

"Okay!" He shouted as he darted down the hill towards his aunt. "Kagome! Kagome! Is it lunch time?"

Kagome and Inuyasha both stopped walking and fighting as Shippo came barreling towards them. Kagome smiled and stepped forward with open arms to catch her nephew. He took a flying leap and crashed into her chest, and would have sent the two of them careening back into the frozen duck pond if Inuyasha hadn't been there to catch them. He braced himself as Kagome tumbled back into his arms.

"Whoa." Shippo said. "That was cool! Like dominoes! Can we do it again?"

"No!" Inuyasha and Kagome both shouted at the same time, not looking at each other.

"Then can we go get lunch now?"

"All right, Shippo." Kagome agreed, setting him down on the ground and taking his hand. "Let's go get fed."

Inuyasha stayed a couple paces behind as they walked up the hill towards Miroku and Sango. He had a lot on his mind. Kagome was trouble, it didn't take a genius to figure that out. He sighed. He'd been trying to get her to dance to his tune, to somehow work her into his plans. Now he realized she was way too smart for that. He was going to have to rework his plans around her. Naraku was evil, but he was right. Kagome was too close. She was everywhere, in everything. She was like a crazed puppy left home alone for the first time.

_At least,_ Inuyasha comforted himself as the others argued about what restaurant to go to. _She doesn't know about Sesshomaru._

He would have been less calm if he had known what Sango was thinking at that moment. _Maybe I should ask Kagome to come with me to visit Lord Sesshomaru?_

…

_Gah. _

_Well, I wasn't expecting to end it there. In my head this chapter was shorter and covered a lot more ground. In fact, that whole morning fight was a big surprise for me, I was not expecting it. But I have a rule about writing—if something you weren't expecting happens it's usually because the characters themselves want it to happen and I should just leave it. It's the stuff I do on purpose that I have to worry about._

_OK. As always, the Review Lion demands reviews!_

_**Roar! Roar!**_

_Indeed. It is rare that I update without having at least ONE review for the previous chapter! I realize I'm still luring readers in, but if you are reading this __**please**__ review? Even if it's just to tell me that you read the chapter-you don't even have to say if you liked it or not. Yeah, I'm that desperate for reviews. Sigh…_

_**Roar!**_

_TTFN_


	8. The Invitation

_**A special thank you to…**_

_**CaseClosed621…alight…**_

_..._

_Disclaimer:_

_Pwale: Has anyone seen that tiger?_

_Mr. X: No, Pwale! No!_

_Pwale: What?_

_Mr. X: You are not allowed to run out of disclaimer ideas so soon!_

_Pwale: Don't blame me! It's really hard coming up with a funny way to say, "I don't own the Inuyasha characters."_

_Mr. X: Pwale…_

_Pwale: What now? Oh…DAMMIT!_

…

_**The Corner Store**_

_The Invitation_

_**By Pwale**_

…

Inuyasha felt uncomfortable surrounded by this much lace. The restaurant Kagome and Sango had chosen was practically made out of the stuff. The seats had lace coverings, the tablecloths were lace, the curtains were lace, there were lace doilies under the centerpiece and framed lace samples on the walls. There was even lace on the waitresses uniforms. While the girls cooed over the darling skirts and adorable collars Inuyasha fought back the urge to make gagging noises. All this place needed was a picture of a kitten and it would be completely unbearable. He just hoped the food wouldn't be as sickeningly sweet at the décor.

When the waitress led them to their table and handed him his menu Inuyasha's heart sank. So much for that hope. This was a "brunch" place. They served "brunch." In Inuyasha's experience "brunch" usually meant some sort of sweet breakfast food topped with maple syrup and ice cream. "Brunch" was a meal to make teeth positively grateful for the standard dessert. Inuyasha hated "brunch."

"I hate brunch." Inuyasha snapped.

"Then it's a good thing they serve sandwiches too." Kagome retorted without looking up from her own menu. She was sitting next to Shippo and her nephew was cuddling into her side. "Look at the back of the menu."

Inuyasha turned his menu over in his hands and sure enough there was a tiny selection of sandwiches at the very bottom of the menu, squished in underneath the beverages. He made a face but kept his comments to himself.

"I want waffles." Miroku said happily. "I love waffles." Inuyasha threw him a dark look. _Traitor male._

"Me too." Sango agreed. She and Miroku shared a warm I-Like-The-Same-Things-You-Like-Isn't-It-Great-The-Way-We-Connect look.

Inuyasha grumbled darkly but when the waitress came back he ordered a ham sandwich and a tall glass of juice. Hey, he wasn't paying and he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity for free food.

"So Sango," Kagome leaned over the table to get a better look at the detective over Shippo's head. "What's new with the case? Any leads?"

"Actually…" Sango blushed a little. "Something new came up just this morning. I was wondering if any of you knew anything about Lord Sesshomaru?"

Kagome, Miroku and Shippo all shook their heads no. Inuyasha felt like the bottom was falling out of his stomach, but he tried to keep his sudden sensation of anatomical emptiness from his face. This confirmed his suspicions. The gods hated him.

"He used to be the chief of police, and he was the officer in charge before." Sango explained. No one needed to ask before what, they all knew that the jewelry heist was the only thing on Sango's mind lately. "After the face off between the law and the thieves he resigned and moved out to the country without any explanation."

"He didn't arrest anybody?" Miroku asked.

"No one was ever arrested for the thefts." Sango shook her head. "Apparently there was a suspect for the murder, but whoever he or she was they disappeared into obscurity in the fire."

"Fire?" Shippo looked up. Evidence-destroying fire sounded like a promising adventure, perfect for a valiant knight of his stature.

…Sometimes Shippo had a little trouble keeping reality and fantasy separate. But considering what he had to deal with in reality, can you blame him?

"People thought that was why Lord Sesshomaru resigned." Sango lowered her voice and leaned across the table, as if this was a piece of juicy gossip. "Some people said he was covering for someone and set the fire himself."

"Really?" Kagome's eyebrows shot up. "Did anyone ever try to find out if that was true?"

"I think everyone was scared of him." Sango seemed to feel a little ashamed of the behavior of her seniors, but she'd never say as much. "All I know for sure is that he's the only lead I have. So this morning I went to Mushin and told him that I was going out to the country to ask his lordship a few questions."

This wasn't the whole truth, but no one needed to know that.

_-Flashback-_

_Sango knocked on the chief's office door three times before pushing it open. Mushin didn't bother looking up from the paperwork he was sorting. Sango moved to stand at the edge of his desk, keeping her eyes carefully trained on the wall above his head. She was worried he was going to scold her for her lack of progress on the jewelry heist case. But __**dammit**__, she was __**stuck**__! Her first big case and it was a dead end before she'd even started. There weren't any leads! She didn't know what was going on and the only people who could clue her in were keeping their mouths shut tighter than an oyster at a clambake._

…

_Whatever that meant._

"_You wanted to see me, sir?" Sango said, trying to keep her tone as unconcerned as possible. She knew that everyone was watching her carefully for the first sign of weakness. If she gave them an opening they'd be on her to retire before she could even pull out her cudgel. _

"_Detective Sango, I wanted to congratulate you on your progress." Mushin said simply. Sango flushed and her eyes flew down to meet his, an angry retort bubbling in her throat. She bit her tongue to keep from saying anything that might kill her already feeble career prospects. "I admit I was surprised. I didn't realize you were so invested in police work."_

"_Sir?" She managed to grit out. Sarcasm had never been Mushin's forte before, but maybe it was a hidden talent?_

"_You seem to have been attracting the attention of important people in high places." Mushin smirked at her. Sango frowned. Now she was just confused. Was she getting chewed out or not?_

"_Sir?" She repeated, trying not to feel stupid. He was being vague on purpose, she told herself. She couldn't allow him to rankle her cool. _

"_Lord Sesshomaru has issued you an invitation." Mushin explained. He picked up a single sheet of parchment and handed it to her. "He wants you to visit him."_

_Sango stared down at the summons she held in suddenly shaky hands. At the very top of the sheet was an embossed seal. Two dogs rampant framing a red sword on a silver field. The seal of the Taisho family. Sango read the rest of the message with mixed feelings of horror and awe._

_**It has come to our attention that your Detective Sango has taken over the Shikon case. We are sure she has many questions and we would be willing to answer those questions if she would do us the pleasure of visiting. There are things that she should learn face-to-face. **_

_Sango's eyes trailed down to the bottom of the page where a second clumsier hand had written:_

_**It would be really nice if the Detective could come! She could see the gardens and the tower and it's really pretty here and she'd really like it so she should come and visit. If she came before the 22**__**nd**__** she'd get to see the eclipse! It is going to be really exciting!**_

_Clearly Lord Sesshomaru had a child who had stolen the invitation before it could be sent. Sango couldn't help but notice that both writers had failed to mention where she was to go or how she was to get there, or even how to contact them. She suppressed an exasperated sigh. That was the aristocracy for you. Suddenly she frowned._

"_Shikon case?" She asked Mushin. Her boss shrugged._

"_That's what they called it the first time around. One of the pieces in question was a really famous rock. It was supposed to grant wishes or something, so there were all these conspiracy theories going around about someone trying to unite the collection in order to get a wish from the Shikon no Tama."_

"…_Do we know where the Shikon no Tama is?" Sango asked. She wasn't positive but she didn't think that particular name had been on either her or Kagome's list. "Was it ever recovered?"_

"_I don't know, Detective." Mushin sighed. He couldn't handle these young, overzealous officers. They always wanted to save the world and right all the wrongs. "I suppose you'll have to ask his lordship if you want answers. I don't have any for you." He handed her a small envelope. "There are two tickets and some cash for necessities along the way in here. You and your partner can leave tomorrow. Someone will meet you at the station."_

_Sango opened her mouth to remind him that she still didn't have a partner when an idea occurred to her. Fighting back a flush at her presumption she gave him a shallow bow, put the envelope and the invitation in her pocket and fled before he could change his mind._

…

_-End Flashback-_

…

"That was very brave of you, Sango." Miroku said admiringly. Sango nodded curtly and tried to ignore the faint blush she could feel heating her cheeks. Why oh _why_ did she have to be such a terrible liar?

"Anyway," she started to continue with what she was saying but she was interrupted when the waitress came to take their orders.

"Oi, wench." Inuyasha suddenly sat up straight. "You can't just order waffles and ice cream." Kagome stared at him in horror.

"In the name of all that is good in this world, _why _wouldn't I get waffles and ice cream whenever the opportunity presented itself?" She said, struggling to keep her voice free from panic. If he took away her waffle and ice cream treat she was…she was…she was going to _cry. _Like a little girl. And then he'd just feel guilty and she'd get her waffles and ice cream. Ha. There was no way he could win.

"Because it isn't healthy." Inuyasha scolded her. "You need to eat healthy things. Health is important. Pasta is healthy." He looked at the waitress suspiciously. "Do you have pasta?" He asked her.

"Is it on the menu?"

"No."

"Then we don't have pasta, sir." The waitress almost rolled her eyes but stopped herself just in time. She really needed the tip. "Everything we have is on the menu."

Inuyasha scowled but took a moment to consider the back of the menu once more. "Then bring her a plate of beans." He ordered.

"Inuyasha, I don't want beans." Kagome glared at him. "I _want_ waffles and ice cream. I am going to _have _waffles and ice cream. End of discussion."

"Fine." Inuyasha threw the menu at the table and glared back. "But you're eating the beans as well." They glared at each other from across the table, not blinking.

…

…not blinking…

…

…

…not blinking…

…

…_still_ not blinking…

…

"Uh…I'll just go get—" The waitress stopped herself before she could say 'beans.' She had a feeling that someone might attack her if she did. "Uh…yeah…be right back with your…orders…"

…

…guess who hasn't been blinking? Kagome and Inuyasha, that's who!

…

"You guys?" Miroku asked hesitantly. "Are you going to stop soon?"

"Shut up, Miroku." Kagome ordered without breaking the stare.

"Aren't you in pain?" Sango asked, worried. Both her new friends were red-eyed and twitched oddly. She could see the film of protective tears welling around their lashes as the eyeballs fought to moisten themselves against the impending dry. Sango could not hear body parts, but if she could she would have heard this:

_**AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! OH GOD! WHHHHYYYYYYY? IT HURTS SO MUCH!**_

These were the screams of the tortured, wretched eyeballs. Poor things. Finally the body parts couldn't take it anymore.

_OKAY! _Shouted Kagome's neck. _Are you ready?_

_Yeah!_ Inuyasha's neck bellowed back. _Are you all set, eyelids?_

_HURRY! _All four eyelids shouted, they hated seeing their eyeball friends suffer like this.

_Okay! _Kagome's neck took the lead._ On the count of three! ONE! TWO! __**THREE!**_ On the 'three' the necks twisted and the eyelids slammed down over their eyeball friends. Kagome and Inuyasha grimaced and furiously tried to blink back the tears that threatened to stream down their faces, both secretly grateful that the other had looked away at the exact same moment.

"Grown ups are crazy." Shippo muttered to himself. "I don't ever want to become one."

Strangely enough, though, the Staring Match of Pain seemed to resolve whatever conflict Inuyasha and Kagome had. They stopped fighting over every little thing after that and even seemed to be starting to enjoy each other's company. Sango caught Miroku's eye and shrugged. Maybe the gods understood what was going on in their wacky heads, but even that was kind of doubtful.

Kagome enjoyed her waffles and ice cream. She did not enjoy the medium-sized bowl of beans Inuyasha made her eat. As she chewed she rolled her eyes at him, but he just snorted, crossed her arms and watched carefully to make sure she finished every last bite.

_What sort of protector would I be if I let her get sick?___He asked himself. After all, she needed her strength. Not only was she supporting herself, working every day, and also caring for her young nephew, but she was also tackling the huge responsibility of mystery solver head-on! If someone didn't watch out for her she was going to work herself to—

…hold on…

Inuyasha mentally slapped himself. He wasn't supposed to be encouraging her! _I'm the worst thief ever._ He thought glumly. _I can't keep anything straight anymore._

This is Inuyasha's secret.

…No, not that he's an idiot. That's obvious. It's not a secret at all. We all know that Inuyasha's an idiot.

But did we all know that Inuyasha is a thief?

…Okay, well, I'm sure the dear reader probably caught on by now, but Kagome doesn't know Inuyasha is a thief. Miroku and Sango don't know it. I don't think Shippo knows. Kanna might know, but for all I know Kanna knows _everything_. Who knows?

Inuyasha hadn't always been a thief. Originally he was just the baby half-brother of the righteous, law-abiding Sesshomaru. After the death of his mother Inuyasha had gone to live with his elder sibling and that was when the trouble started. Inuyasha didn't appreciate Sesshomaru's attitude. Everything was always black and white with the demon lord. Right or wrong, there was never any in-between. Inuyasha sometimes wondered if that was why he had allowed himself to be pulled into Naraku's dark underworld schemes, to prove his brother _incorrect_. That there was a gray area, that sometimes a situation was complicated. That sometimes even the great Sesshomaru-sama was unsure.

Inuyasha never stole anything while working for Naraku. He had just been the hired muscle. He was strong and sneaky and fast, perfect for what Naraku had in mind. At first everything had seemed fine. Inuyasha beat up bad guys (Naraku's business partners/rivals) and got paid vast sums of money in hard cash. It seemed like the perfect job. And it drove his perfect brother up the wall, which made every second even sweeter.

Until Kikyo showed up.

No one was really sure where she came from. One day no one had ever heard of her, and the next everyone was talking about Naraku's new obsession. The pretty little priestess with the shiny rock and the ice queen attitude.

The Shikon no Tama.

That was when everything really went to hell in a hand basket.

To this day Inuyasha shuddered as he remembered the weeks that followed, nights of blood and fire. To the outside world it might have seemed like nothing more than a series of mysterious jewelry thefts, great fodder for hushed gossip and speculation. To those who lived in the shadows, making their livelihoods off the less-than savory human endeavors it was the stuff of nightmares. The underworld had been turned on its head as Naraku searched for every last piece of the cursed Shikon collection. For some reason having to do with magic and balancing the elements (Inuyasha had never paid much attention to his studies) the Shikon no Tama demanded a sacrifice of other enchanted jewelry before it would grant a wish. Inuyasha supposed that should have been—well, maybe not the first clue that it was time to run. The first clue was probably the fact that Naraku was evil. But it certainly should have been **a **clue. Any magic jewelry that was into cannibalism had to suspicious.

Inuyasha stopped going home. He realized that he was in too deep. This wasn't about showing up his brother anymore. This was about getting away from Naraku alive. Inuyasha had become wild, frantic to escape, doing anything he could think of in order to free himself.

Inuyasha wasn't proud of the things he had done in this time. He didn't like to think about the sort of person he had been. Suffice to say, he had done some very bad things.

It wasn't until that fateful night when Kikyo's body was found in a gutter, bled dry and contorted in agony that Inuyasha realized just how desperate the situation had become. Finally he turned to his brother and did the one thing he'd never thought he'd do.

He asked for help.

It was embarrassing how swiftly and cleanly Sesshomaru had made all the bad things go away. Within a week Naraku was in hiding, the jewelry had "disappeared" and all the evidence of Inuyasha's involvement was destroyed in a "mysterious" and "accidental" fire. Kikyo's body also vanished, and Inuyasha could never bring himself to ask his brother what had happened to the innocent priestess who'd gotten caught up in such evil games. Before he knew what was happening Sesshomaru had retired to a life of gentlemanly leisure and bundled the whole family off to the countryside.

Inuyasha had spent the next two years brooding and sulking until one day he decided to take action. He was very careful, very subtle, but he slowly started buying up the remaining pieces of the collection and releasing fakes back into the market. He didn't want Naraku to know what he was doing. All Inuyasha was sure of was that Naraku needed that jewelry, and that he, Inuyasha, couldn't let him get his greedy hands on it. Inuyasha was sick of waiting.

Apparently Naraku was sick of it too.

They had unfinished business.

The Shikon no Tama was missing. Naraku didn't know that the jewelry his thieves had taken were forgeries. Inuyasha was in the lead, he _knew_ it. He definitely had the upper hand.

So why did he feel so frightened? Detective Sango was absolute rubbish at her job, he didn't need to worry about being exposed by her. His brother wasn't going to let some newbie take down their entire family.

With a twist to his gut Inuyasha remembered that Sesshomaru himself had invited Sango to the estate.

…he was probably safe.

…_Probably_.

And then there was the whole Kagome thing. Where did she figure in to all this? Inuyasha wasn't the only person in her life who'd once worked for Naraku. He knew for a fact that five years ago Kagura had been Naraku's favorite pet thief. Now she owned a jewelry shop? That Kagome, his new neighbor, just happened to work at? A jewelry shop that just happened—and Inuyasha knew this because he'd broken in and burgled it himself—to have the last few pieces of the original collection that Inuyasha hadn't bought up over the years? Did she honestly expect _anyone_ to believe that? Sure, there was such a thing as coincidence, but this was just weird!

"Hello in there." Kagome snapped her fingers in front of Inuyasha's face. "Anybody home? What on earth are you thinking about?"

Inuyasha jumped in his seat and focused back on reality. He glared. "What are you talking about, wench?" He growled. Kagome sighed.

"We're leaving." She explained. "We've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes. Are you all right?"

"…I'm fine." Inuyasha cursed himself. He shouldn't have allowed himself to become so absorbed in his memories. It clearly wasn't safe.

"…Fine." Kagome decided not to push him for answers. She had probably gotten everything she was going to get out of him for one day. "Are you ready to go?"

Inuyasha shrugged and got to his feet. "Sure." He said. Everyone started putting on their coats. Kagome helped Shippo with his first, carefully buttoning each button, before reaching for her own. One of the sleeves was bunched at the shoulder so she suddenly found herself twisted in an uncomfortable position, trapped in her own coat. As she struggled Inuyasha rolled his eyes and reached out to her. "Hold still." He ordered and straightened out her sleeve. Her arm slid in all the way and he pulled the collar up around her ears.

"Thanks." Kagome told him, a faint pink coloring her cheeks. Inuyasha grinned at her.

"You really are clumsy, you know?" He teased. Kagome just rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.

As they walked through the streets back towards their lodging Inuyasha and Kagome unconsciously started to walk a little ways ahead of the group. To Miroku's surprise Shippo hung back with him and Sango. Usually Shippo didn't leave his aunt's side when they were on the street unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Is something wrong?" Miroku asked Shippo. The little boy shrugged.

"No." He said, but he was eyeing the bickering couple with a strange expression on his face. Miroku followed his gaze and frowned.

_Maybe,_ Miroku thought. _Shippo's feeling insecure. He's never really had to share Kagome's attention with anyone before, and she __**does**__ seem pretty fixated on Inuyasha lately._ Miroku decided to pull Kagome aside later that day and have a little conversation about spending some more quality alone time with her lonely nephew. After all, he didn't have any friends his own age and with Kagome's busy work schedule he didn't often get to spend the day with her. It must be hard for him to have to share, especially with someone as difficult to like as Inuyasha.

Miroku didn't actually mind his new roommate. In fact, he found Inuyasha's gruff attitude to be somewhat endearing. He also knew that Inuyasha had worried about him when he'd fallen ill the day before, but had been too shy to show it. He knew that Inuyasha had bought him an umbrella out of concern, but had chickened out and stashed it instead. As far as he could tell Inuyasha was really just a big softie. Miroku chuckled to himself, imagining the horrified look on the hanyou's face if Miroku ever shared that particular impression with anyone. Inuyasha liked to pretend that he didn't care about anything or anyone, but Miroku knew better. They had only lived together for a few days but already Miroku felt he could trust the hanyou unreservedly.

Not that he did. Miroku wasn't stupid. He wasn't in the habit of offering up information that wasn't asked for, but he didn't worry about Inuyasha's trustworthiness.

"So how long have you been working at the jewelry store?" Inuyasha asked Kagome, trying to disguise his request as idle interest. Kagome shrugged.

"A couple years, I guess." She said. "Not that long." She thought about it. "I got the job a little bit after I moved into the lodging house, so it was three, almost four years ago."

"Why'd you move to the lodging house?" Inuyasha asked. Her motives behind her workplace seemed innocent enough, but he had to make sure. "You said that Sota left you for work, isn't it usually the other way around?"

Kagome didn't look him in the eye. "I was living with my brother and his wife, I moved out after Shippo was born. Their house was small and it was smaller once a baby was in the mix."

Inuyasha thought about this, then glanced back at Shippo. "When did Shippo's mom—"

"Last year." Kagome already knew what he was going to ask before he finished asking. "Walking pneumonia."

"I see." They continued on in silence for a block before Kagome spoke up again.

"Most people say that they're sorry." She pointed out.

"I hate it when people say that. Why should I be sorry? I didn't kill her." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her and Kagome giggled.

"Relax." She told him. "I'm not accusing you of anything."

"Feh." Inuyasha crossed his arms, but didn't move away from her.

"So, about the bad guy—" she started to say but Inuyasha cut her off.

"Drop it Kagome." He growled.

"But I don't want to."

"Why?"

"It seems interesting."

"Interesting almost got you killed last night."

"You saved me."

"I might not have."

"Of course you would have, you promised to protect me."

"You were attacked before I made that promise."

"Yeah. But the important thing is that you made the promise and I'm holding you to it. So you'll save me from anything that tries to hurt me." She smiled up at him disarmingly. "Or are you planning to break your promise?"

Inuyasha scowled. "Of course I'm not going to break my promise! And didn't you already agree to trust me? Have a little faith, why don't ya?"

"I trust you, Inuyasha. Of course I trust you. I'm just teasing." Kagome didn't feel like getting angry anymore. It had been a long, long morning.

Something in a side alley caught Inuyasha's attention and he suddenly stopped walking.

"What is it?" Kagome asked him, also stopping. "Is something wrong?"

"No…" Inuyasha didn't look at her when he answered; he just stared down the alley as if he could see something that was invisible to the rest of them.

"What's going on?" Miroku asked as he, Sango and Shippo caught up.

"Nothing…" Inuyasha suddenly focused on his companions. "I just remembered that I have to pick up wood for the door. You guys go on ahead. I'll see you later."

"Okay." Kagome shrugged. "Bye. Shippo, do you want to be carried?"

Shippo was so delighted to have Kagome's attention to himself that neither he nor his aunt noticed that Inuyasha was watching them leave. Sango didn't notice because she was too focused on her own work-related anxiety and while Miroku did notice, he just assumed that Inuyasha was watching the swinging hips of his female friend. It didn't register with anyone that Inuyasha was waiting to make sure they weren't going to turn back before he ducked into the alley and approached the man who stood in the shadows.

This man smelled of snake oil and cheap nicotine. His hair was long, greasy and unkempt. His fingertips were stained the same yellow as his teeth and his eyes were a worrying bloodshot red. His clothes had once been fine and sturdy, but were kept in such a wretched state of filth they couldn't even be identified as individual articles anymore. His skin was like bleached candle wax. As he lifted a cigarette that was more rat poison than tobacco to his lips his hands shook. His mouth leered and his eyes glinted maliciously.

"Dog boy." He greeted. His voice was slick and cold, like oil on ice.

"What do you want, Onigumo?" Inuyasha sneered. This was Naraku's pet murderer, the man who did all the filthiest, most heinous jobs that even the most evil of criminals couldn't stomach. Inuyasha had never gone out of his way to learn the details of Onigumo's exploits but he had heard whispers of dark, dank places…and children…

"It's not what I want, dog boy." Onigumo chuckled. "It's what you want."

"What I want?" Inuyasha didn't follow.

"Yeah. What do you want? Sticking your ugly snout where it doesn't belong. Naraku isn't too happy with you, dog boy."

"I'm not too happy with Naraku either." Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Get to the point, bastard."

"Stay away from the girl."

"What…" Inuyasha trailed off, frowning. There was only one girl the villain could possibly mean. After rescuing Kagome last night Inuyasha had been expecting some sort of retaliation, but not this soon and not…someone with Onigumo's skill set. All of a sudden Inuyasha felt a flash of genuine concern. Were they all in more trouble than any of them realized? He pushed the concern to the side and slid his foot behind him, moving into a fighting stance. "How about you stay the fuck away from Kagome."

"Is that her name?" Onigumo asked lightly, as if he didn't care. He flicked his cigarette in Inuyasha's face and grinned when the hanyou flinched. "Pretty name." He started to walk away. "Pretty name for a pretty girl."

"Don't walk away from me you creep!" Inuyasha bellowed but Onigumo had already melted into the shadows. Inuyasha darted down the alley after him but there was nothing there, only bricks and trash and dead air. He knew better than to stick around and so he left, swearing, and went off to buy some wood for Kagome's new door.

It was going to be one hell of a door.

A fortress of a door.

A citadel of a door.

Whole armies wouldn't be able to get past this door if Inuyasha had any say in the matter.

And _definitely_ not deranged psychopaths with a penchant for nubile flesh.

…

Shippo was exhausted after all the adventures of that morning, so while he napped in Kagome's bed the grown-ups enjoyed warming tea in the kitchen. Before leaving to finish up some housework Kaede had brewed them a pot of tea so strong Miroku swore one could get a caffeine boost just by inhaling the steam. They weren't talking about anything in particular until Sango decided she had stalled long enough.

"Kagome," she said. "I was actually wondering if you wanted to come with me to visit Lord Sesshomaru."

Miroku and Kagome both turned to stare at Sango, unreadable expressions on their faces. Sango blushed. "Only if you wanted to." She murmured.

"It's not that I don't want to…" Kagome said hesitantly. "I really, really do. But I have work. Kagura won't pay me if I don't show up for work and if she doesn't pay me I'll wind up starved and homeless."

"I can pay you for your time." Sango said a little too quickly. She had foreseen this obstacle. But as soon as the words were out of her mouth she knew she had made a mistake. Miroku winced and Kagome suddenly went stiff as a board, her face darkening.

"I'm not so poor I need your charity, detective." Kagome said coldly. Sango was horrified.

"That's not what I meant!" She protested, waving her hands in the air. "It's not charity! It's a job!" Kagome settled down and looked at her questioningly. "I've been thinking, and you do as much work on this case as I do. You've had more breakthroughs than I do and…" she swallowed. She didn't want to admit that Kagome was doing her job better than she was but it was a close thing. "Anyway, I'd like to offer you a job as a consultant."

"What's a consultant?" Kagome asked.

"…uh…" Sango shrugged. "I don't know. It's just the name they give people who help on cases."

"Consultants are people with a specialized skill or knowledge set that assist in understanding a particular case." Miroku explained. "Depending on the contract you might even be paid more than an official cop. Especially since you would be a private consultant, and not employed by the government."

"How did you know that?" Sango asked him sharply, not appreciating that last detail. Miroku shrugged.

"I know lots of random things." He said. "It's useful for my job."

"As a jewelry salesman?" Sango snorted disdainfully. Rather than take offense Miroku just smiled cheekily at her.

"That's right." He said.

"When are you leaving?" Kagome asked Sango.

"Tomorrow afternoon. The sooner the better." Sango explained. Kagome stayed silent for a moment.

"…Let me talk to Kagura about it tomorrow morning." She said. "If she'll give me any time off from work I would really appreciate the opportunity. But only if I can bring Shippo."

Sango nodded happily. "I can get my boss to give me some more money for Shippo's ticket."

"Won't he ask what the money is for?" Miroku asked. Sango waved him off.

"If he asks I'll just tell him that I have female needs. It works every time." She said happily.

"Isn't that…lying?" Kagome asked slowly, not wanting to say the word 'unethical.'

"…Well, I do have female needs so not really." Sango looked a little confused. "Besides, it's not like I'm using the money to do anything bad, so who cares?"

Miroku and Kagome shared a quick look, both of them thinking the same thing. _Why is this woman a cop, again?_ Sango didn't notice.

"I'm so excited!" She cried, clapping her hands together. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"What is?" A voice, deep with suspicion, said from the outside door. They all turned to see Inuyasha carrying a giant slab hardwood on his back into the kitchen. He set it down, leaned it against the wall, and turned to glare at them. "What is going to be so much fun?"

"I'm going with Sango to meet Lord Sesshomaru." Kagome explained. "If Kagura says it's okay, that is." She amended quickly.

Dear reader, rather than waste your time with a highly descriptive account of Inuyasha's facial expressions following this announcement, I will list them for you.

First Facial Expression: Shock

Second Facial Expression: Horror

Third Facial Expression: Rage

Fourth Facial Expression: Desperation

Fifth Facial Expression: Dawning Realization

Sixth Facial Expression: Grudging Acceptance

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked slowly when it looked like he was done. "That was like a marathon of emotions. Do you want some tea?" She held out her own mug and he accepted it almost gratefully, taking a huge swig before anyone could warn him. His whole head turned dark red and his eyes widened as the caffeine hit his system like a runaway caboose, but to everyone's amazement he stayed on his feet. He did sway a little, but he remained upright. Miroku gave a low admiring whistle.

"Have a seat, my friend." Miroku pushed out a stool for Inuyasha's benefit. "The gods know you deserve it."

"Feh." Inuyasha said brusquely, handing Kagome her psychotic tea. "I'm not going to be brought down by some stupid drink." Wisely, no one commented on the relieved sigh he wasn't able to hold back as he practically fell onto the stool.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome said slowly. "May I go with Sango?"

Inuyasha looked up at her, a little startled that she was asking permission. Then he thought back to their conversation in the graveyard and was less surprised. He must have scared her, but at least she was behaving. That made his job easier.

"Sure." He said. "I doubt there will be anyone stupid enough to hurt you when you're visiting a lord."

_Also it'll get you out of the city while I try to find out what Naraku's up to._ Inuyasha thought to himself as Kagome and Sango squealed with glee. _It's probably best if you to disappear for a little while, at least until Onigumo's lost interest in you._

Still, he couldn't shake the foreboding feeling that was growing in his gut. He just hoped that Sesshomaru didn't plan to tell the girls anything that could reflect poorly on Inuyasha.

…

Yeah. He was completely doomed.

…

_Well, there's that chapter all done. Not as long as the last one but still a decent length. _

_Sorry that it took me a little longer, I've had a pretty busy week._

_Oh—and my classes start up again soon, but I don't know how that will affect my updating schedule. I'll try to be as regular and as quick as I can without sacrificing my normal standards of quality (how high those standards are is something you can decide for yourselves). _

_**ROAR!**_

_Well, you heard the Review Lion. You must review! If you don't the review lion is going to come and EAT YOU! And if you're eaten you'll never find out what Sesshomaru wants, wouldn't that be sad?_

_Anyone have any guesses about what our favorite demon lord has planned?_

_TTFN!_

_-Pwale_


	9. Off To See The Wizard

_**A special thank you to…**_

_**CaseClosed621…lilsneezluvsstuff91…alight…Illico…Kaori Koriryu…**_

…

_**A/N Note:**__** Once again the name of the town I'm making up is an actual town-only this time it's not on purpose. Westshire is a real place and it's also the only name that makes sense. The Westshire in this story is in no way a reflection of the actual place, and any similarities of any sort are purely coincidental.**_

…

_Disclaimer: _

_Inuyasha: Why does A TOWN get a normal disclaimer and we get this …this…_

_Pwale: This wonderful demonstration of how cool I am?_

_Inuyasha: …I'm going to kill you. Right now._

_Pwale: But Inuyasha! If you kill me you'll never get me to say that I don't own you or your friends!_

_Inuyasha: Ah-ha!_

_Pwale: What? Oh…not again. I must be slipping in my old age._

…

_**The Corner Store**_

_Off To See The Wizard_

_**By Pwale**_

…

Kagome had never been in a train station before, let alone on a train. She didn't like it. The rumble of wheels, the squeal of the whistles, the clatter of luggage and the cacophony of voices echoed throughout the cavernous station and thundered against her eardrums. She could feel a headache coming on and her legs were beginning to sweat in their encasement of bandages. Her inner thighs were almost unbearably itchy but she was in public and there wasn't a damned thing she could do about it. She was beginning to wish that Kagura hadn't given her leave to visit Lord Sesshomaru with Sango…but only a little bit.

_Flashback_

"_You want to go __**where**__?" Kagura blinked at Kagome, so startled that she forgot to hide her emotions. Her best employee had arrived early for work, looking like she'd been kicked by a mule with a grudge, and caught Kagura asleep at her desk in the backroom. Kagura had spent the whole night at the shop trying to balance the books and she didn't feel up to this. _

_Should she be worried that her employees appeared to be carrying out an investigation that could lead to the eventual discovery of her criminal past? Probably. Was she worried? Not especially. She was more concerned about her profits._

_Kagura glanced down at her log books are frowned. The economy was always bad but after the burglary and the subsequent drop in sales she was facing a major financial situation. She didn't want to fire Miroku or Kagome but unless she could figure out a "back door" solution firing would be her only option. She'd have to talk to some of her contacts from the bad old days, but she couldn't do that with Kagome around. Kagome was too smart, too observant, too nosy. Kagome asked too many questions. It was going to get her into trouble one of these days._

_Kagura glanced at Kagome's black eye and wondered if maybe it already had._

"_That sounds like a lovely idea." Kanna suddenly spoke up. The pale girl had been curled under the desk, reorganizing her button collection._

_The buttons had all once been teddy bear eyes. Not that I'm judging, to each their own I always say, I just thought you should know, dear reader._

_Back to our regularly scheduled programming…_

"_You really think so?" Kagome asked gratefully, knowing that if Kanna thought it was a good idea Kagura would definitely agree._

"_Yes." Kanna nodded firmly. "The fresh air will be good for you. You don't look well."_

"_Uh…thank you for your concern…" Kagome said uncertainly. _

"_It is the proper emotion to display, I have been informed." Kanna informed her._

"_You could probably use the vacation." Kagura said. "Why don't you take the whole week off? I can't have you in front of the customers looking like that anyway. Don't worry about it and just try to relax while you're gone."_

"_Thank you, Kagura!" Kagome cried, clapping her hands together. "Thank you so much!"_

End Flashback

Sudden movement against her chest brought Kagome back to the present.

"Are you all right, Shippo?" She asked her nephew who was currently buried under her coat. The air in the station was so thick with the heavy black smoke from the trains that Kagome was worried about the effects it could have on Shippo's health. That was why she had decided to hide him away in the folds of her overcoat. It wasn't very comfortable for either of them but it made Kagome feel better.

"I'm fine." Shippo told her, knowing she couldn't see the disgusted look on his face. He may have been hidden from the majority of the smoke but nothing could protect him from the noxious stench of the depot. It reeked like sulfur, sweat and mildew. Now he understood why Inuyasha had insisted on saying goodbye back at the lodging house. If humans could barely stand this place it must be sensory suicide for a hanyou.

"Kagome!" Sango called as she waved at her friends. "I found the train!"

"Just a little longer." Kagome whispered to Shippo as she grabbed their bag (yes, they only had one carpet bag between the two of them) and hurried over to where Miroku and Sango were standing. It was Miroku's lunch break but he'd have to leave very shortly if he wanted to get back to work on time. It was time to say goodbye.

Kagome stared at Miroku. It had been hard enough saying goodbye to Inuyasha at the house, and she didn't even _like _him.

…Not much, anyway.

But Kagome couldn't remember the last time she'd been without Miroku. He was her stalwart, her first mate. He was her navigator, the wind in her sails, her wheel and her rudder.

…Okay, that last one had just sounded dirty. Enough with the nautical terms.

Suffice to say he was very important to her and all of a sudden she felt very nervous about being without him. Judging from the wide-eyed expression he suddenly dawned he was feeling the same thing.

"Miroku." Kagome said thickly, trying to ignore the tightness in her throat. "Don't push yourself too hard. You were really sick only a couple days ago. You need to take better care of yourself."

"All right." Miroku agreed, blinking against the sudden glistening in his eyes.

"I'm serious." Kagome frowned. "Don't let Inuyasha bully you and don't forget to eat."

"I won't." Miroku promised.

"And don't bring any suspicious girls home just because I'm not there to stop you. And don't start hitting on the other tenants. And for gods' sake, stay _away_ from the girl on the fifth floor because you _know_ she's not right in the head. And—"

"For crying out loud, Kagome. We're just going away for the week, we're not dying." Shippo shouted grumpily from the inside of her coat. His legs were cramping up and the sooner they left the better.

"You've been spending too much time with Inuyasha." Miroku teased the little boy.

"Feh." Came the response. Shippo didn't see the three startled expressions on the grown-ups faces. Kagome shook her head almost imperceptibly. She'd deal with _this _later. Stepping forward she embraced Miroku lightly, trying to be careful of her nephew. Miroku rubbed her back lightly before letting her go and turning to Sango.

"Will you three be all right?" He asked her. She smiled at him a little wearily. She hated farewells.

"We'll all be fine." She told him. "You have nothing to worry about." She tried desperately not to blush when he smiled warmly at her.

"Of course I'll worry when I can't watch out for you." He told her, and then remembered to add- "Lot." To cover the slip he winked at her, enjoying the dark pink in her cheeks.

Their farewell moment was cut short by an ear-splitting whistle and a deep voice crying "All aboard! All aboard for Westshire!"

"Here we go." Sango said, grabbing her bag and opening the compartment door. She could barely contain her excitement.

"Finally!" Shippo cried happily from inside the coat. Freedom was nigh!

It was with mixed feelings that Kagome clambered aboard the train. She shut the door but leaned out the window to say one last thing to her friend.

"Look after Inuyasha." She told Miroku at the exact same time he said:

"Take care of Sango."

Shocked, their eyes locked.

"Miroku—"

"Kagome-"

"Do you-?" They said in unison, but before any further words could be voiced there was a deafening hiss, a loud screech and the train began to move.

They were off.

…

Inuyasha snarled.

He'd already measured the width of Kagome's doorframe three times and now he was having to do it a fourth. He couldn't seem to concentrate long enough to remember the number. How pathetic was that? What the hell was wrong with him?

He angrily rubbed a hand over his face, trying to clear his head. If he was going to be completely honest with himself he knew exactly what was wrong, but he could hardly admit that he was worried about Kagome to the point of distraction.

…Damn it. That didn't count.

Inuyasha growled. Now even his own inner monologue couldn't be trusted. What was the world coming to?

"Finally." He muttered as he jotted the measurement down on his scrap of paper. Now he could start making Kagome's door. His plan was to spend the whole day cutting it out and carving it up, and then tomorrow he would take it to a locksmith who owed him a favor and he'd have the door fitted with the most elaborate and secure locking device possible. Then he'd take it to a witch who owed his brother a favor and have her enchant the door so that if anyone tried to force their way into Kagome's apartment hellfire and fist-sized hail would rain down upon their heads. For a moment Inuyasha played with the idea of building a connection between his apartment and Kagome's so that he could get to her safely without passing through the hall, but then dismissed the idea on the grounds that Kaede probably wouldn't like it if he started building walls where there weren't supposed to be any.

It had been hard to say goodbye. Harder than Inuyasha thought it would be. He knew it was safer in the country and he knew that Sesshomaru probably wouldn't betray him (not after all they'd been through, right?) but he couldn't shake the feeling that the only place in the entire world Kagome would be safe was by his side. Sango was strong enough, but she was way too bubbly to be a good protector. She still believed without question that people were fundamentally good. She wouldn't be able to see the bad things coming.

And it was pretty obvious from her face that Kagome couldn't take care of herself. Every time he saw her eye, with it's mottled coloring and it's scabbing blood, he wanted to flinch. She claimed that it looked worse than it felt but it looked _really_ bad. Inuyasha didn't blame Kaede for assuming the worst. Kagome really did look like an abuse victim.

Why her? Why was this innocent, kind young woman dragged into this dark world for no other reason than association? Inuyasha felt bile rising in his throat. How could Naraku sleep at night knowing, _enjoying_, the suffering he caused every single day? How could Inuyasha have _ever_ been a part of that evil? His guilt and self-disgust was almost crippling, and every time he'd seen Kagome wince he knew that if he had been a little quicker, a little smarter, a little stronger five years ago she wouldn't be in pain today. By this point Inuyasha was so immersed in his self-loathing that he didn't even notice when his pencil broke in his hand because he'd been gripping it too hard. He had to be a better man this time. He had to save her and protect her. If he didn't than he really would be completely worthless, without redemption.

_Yes._ He decided. _That's it. Kagome is my penance. _

And that was _definitely_ all it was. He didn't think she was cute at all. Not even when she wrinkled her nose, or made silly faces when she thought no one was looking. She wasn't even cute when she smiled at him. Not even the tiniest bit, so you can shove that smirk where the sun don't shine.

…

So there.

…

This. Was. The. Best. Thing. _Ever_.

How had he never known how totally awesome trains were!

Shippo would have regretted the four deprived years of his life if he hadn't been so busy watching the grey-green landscape flash by. He was standing on the seat of their compartment, leaning his forehead against the cool glass on the window and soaking up every little detail of the whole locomotion experience with all the wonder and awe of a thrilled little boy. Every once in a while the whistle would blow and he would do a little dance in excitement. He was completely ignoring his adult companions, who were immersed in their own boring adult conversation.

"So the letter last week was the first time you've heard from Sota in almost a year?" Sango asked sympathetically.

"Yeah." Kagome nodded. "I've been really worried about him and at first I was really happy just to hear anything at all. I thought, well at least he's still alive. But…I don't know. Now I'm not so sure…"

"He didn't tell you why he hasn't been writing?" Sango frowned as Kagome shook her head.

"I sort of got the feeling that there was a lot he wanted to tell me but that he couldn't for some reason. But that's ridiculous, right?"

"I don't know." Sango rubbed her chin, thinking hard. "What's he doing for work?"

"I don't know." Kagome bit her lip. "He wouldn't tell me. I know that sounds bad but I _know_ Sota. He wouldn't do anything illegal, ever."

"I know it can be hard to—" Sango started to say but Kagome interrupted her.

"No!" Kagome said, louder than she intended. She immediately ducked her head and lowered her voice. "Sota has an over-developed sense of morality. Even when our Mam was still alive and even when she died and we had nowhere to go, he never so much as pilfered a stale loaf from a trash heap. He'd only take what was given and he'd always do something in exchange. He never picked pockets, never nicked food, never even snuck onto a buggy without paying the fare. The other kids called him Preacher because he was so pious."

"You were on the streets?" Sango looked up sharply, surprised. Kagome flushed a dark red, only just realizing her slip. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably and the stuck out her chin.

"Yeah." She said, daring Sango to comment.

"How'd he survive?" Sango asked wonderingly. This was apparently not the response Kagome had been expecting, and she regarding the copper warily before answering.

"He had me." She said simply.

"I know exactly how you feel." Sango sighed. "My little brother disappeared about two years ago in search of work. Before that I always took care of him. I mean, we weren't on the…we had a house and food, but it still felt like I'd lost a part of myself when he didn't come back home."

"Do you know where he went?" Kagome asked her.

"Nah. Same place everyone else goes I guess." Sango waved her hand in the air, trying to look like this subject didn't upset her. "Nowhere."

Kagome knew exactly what she meant and so she didn't say anything. The two women lapsed into uneasy silence, both wrapped up in their own momentary melancholy.

"Sheep!" Shippo cried, suddenly breaking the tension. He jumped up and down and jabbed at the window. "Kagome! Kagome! I see sheep!"

Kagome and Sango both moved over to peer out the window. Sure enough, they were passing a field full of sheep shivering in the cold.

"They have snow on them!" Shippo said too loudly in Kagome's ear, unable to contain his exuberance. Kagome looked thoughtful.

"Don't sheep hibernate?" Kagome asked.

"No." Sango said wisely. "It's cows that hibernate, not sheep."

Dear reader, this probably goes without saying but just so we're absolutely clear…neither Sango or Kagome know what they're talking about. Vegetables from the market are the closest either girl has ever been to a farm. Now, let us return to our regularly scheduled programming…

This was God Land. Kagome had never seen anything like it before. She'd never been anywhere so icy, so stormy, so _alive_. Even trapped in a train car, steamrolling through this majestic landscape she could feel the raw _power_ that grew in the grass and thundered in the skies above. As she peered over Shippo's shoulder and watched the snowscape flash by she felt like she suddenly believed in every story she'd ever been told as a little girl about the enchanted coastal country. There were mountains towering over the train and deep ravines and fields and pathways and old stone fences that no longer penned anything at all and somber monoliths standing solitary in the openness, mysterious and magical.

Who _was_ this Lord Sesshomaru, to live in such an ethereal place?

…

Sesshomaru was a bastard.

But he wouldn't betray his own brother.

Inuyasha had spent _hours_ pacing his room, trying to convince himself that he hadn't made a fatal mistake by allowing Kagome to run off to his lordship. So far it wasn't working, but persistence was half the battle, right?

…Wait, that wasn't how that saying went…

Gods all _damn_ it. Now he was confusing himself. _Again. _Once upon a time things had been simple. Naraku was bad. Inuyasha was bad once, but now he was good. He didn't really know what Naraku was up to but the important thing was that whatever it was, it was bad. So Inuyasha's master plan was to smash Naraku's plans to bits without Naraku finding out who was doing the smashing. So far so good.

And then Kagome showed up and made everything complicated and sinister. And confusing.

Thinking about the girl who lived across the hall and how she looked when she was smiling, or how she became flushed when she was angry at him, Inuyasha's frown slowly started to fade. Then he became aware of what his face was doing and the frown returned with gusto.

Very, _very_ confusing.

Poor guy.

At least Miroku wasn't home yet—

"Inuyasha, have you spent the whole day here?" Miroku asked as he opened the door. "That can't be healthy."

Inuyasha had spoken too soon.

"Leave me alone, pervert." Inuyasha snapped. "I was making Kagome's new door."

"…That's a door?" Miroku kept his expressions carefully schooled, revealing none of his amusement. "My mistake. I thought it was a barricade from hell. You do realize Kagome is going to want to actually be able to get into her room? Not to mention get out of it again. Though after she gets a look at that monstoristy she may opt to simply scale the wall and crawl in through the window."

"She can get in and out. And I'm putting bars on the window.." Inuyasha snapped, folding his arms and glaring at his roommate. "What do you take me for? I'm not a complete idiot you know."

"How do you open it?" Miroku asked.

"I can't tell you." Inuyasha told him smugly. "If you knew you'd be able to get in."

"…Yes. I would like to be able to get into my best friend's room." Miroku frowned. Inuyasha seemed to be taking this "protection" thing too far. "What if she's in trouble?"

"That's what I'm for." Inuyasha sounded unreasonably proud of this.

"What if you're not here?"

"Not gonna happen."

"That's ridiculous and I refuse to credit it as an argument." Miroku's eyes narrowed. "Inuyasha, tell me how to open that door."

"No." Inuyasha also glared. "Look, I don't think you're going to do anything to her but what if you were kidnapped and tortured? You'd spill the beans in ten seconds flat!"

Miroku was aghast. "Do you _really_ expect someone to torture me just so they can figure out how to get into Kagome's bedroom?" He shook his head. "That's insane."

"Feh." Inuyasha snorted in disgust. "Just goes to show you have no idea what these people are really like."

"What people?" Miroku asked, moving to the closet to put his things away. He was trying very hard not to sound too interested.

"The people who attacked Kagome." Inuyasha fell for the act completely.

"And why would they want to get into Kagome's bedroom that badly?" Miroku asked as he hung up his coat.

"Because she's very suspicious. There's no way it's just a coincidence that—hey!" Inuyasha pointed a finger at Miroku and started blustering. "Stop that! Stop that right now!"

"Stop what?" Miroku asked, turning around and blinking innocently.

"You know what!" Inuyasha shouted angrily and spun on his heel, stomping out of the room.

"Where are you going at this time of night?" Miroku called after him, mostly teasing.

"For a walk, jerk! I need to get the fuck out of here." Inuyasha stormed down the stairs and out the front door, refusing to acknowledge any of the other tenants he passed on the way. Not that he knew them by name anyway. The only people he knew in the whole building were Miroku, Kagome, Shippo and Kaede.

…Actually, now that he thought about it that wasn't very safe. Onigumo, or someone working for Onigumo, could be living directly underneath Kagome and Inuyasha would have no idea. The hanyou stopped in his tracks at the end of the dark, cold street and turned around to eye the warm, bright lodging house. Almost all the windows were illuminated by candles. Inuyasha felt a slow grin sneaking across his features, his anger completely forgotten. It looked like he had found something new to occupy his attention before Kagome came back.

And no, he wasn't just going to take out his frustrations on his unsuspecting housemates. That was a completely absurd accusation. Hmph.

…

Sango, Kagome and Shippo all stood in the empty train station, unsure of their next move. Unlike the station back home this one was in the open air and though the smell was infinitely better, the cold wind blew down on them with a vengeance. All their extremities were completely numb. There was no one to meet them and as the minutes ticked by Sango and Kagome found themselves getting more and more anxious.

Was something wrong?

Here they were, far from home, standing all alone in the dark and the cold, waiting for…what, exactly? Someone to come and save them? Neither Kagome nor Sango were comfortable with that thought. They weren't the sorts of girls who liked to be saved.

Well, Sango wasn't anyway. Kagome was more of an opportunist. She'd use anything and anyone if it meant survival. Still. Shippo was shivering so violently she could feel it through her coat as he pressed to her side. Her legs were warm thanks to Kaede's bandages but her body was still recovering from the attack and she needed to sit down.

"Right." She announced. "I've had it. Let's go find the pub and ask where we can stay the night. We'll find his lordship in the morning. After we've had a warm breakfast, that is."

"Ah-_hem_." A nasal-sounding 'cough' came from behind them. The travelers whirled around to discover the source of the sound, a short toad demon. An _ugly_ short toad demon with a big, weird staff. And no, that wasn't some odd sexual joke. He was carrying a staff that was twice his height, and had two human heads carved into the top. It was creepy. He was regarding the girls with disdain, his eyes lingering on Kagome's bruised face, but Shippo noticed with interest that the demon looked almost frightened of him. "You must be the detective and her…_entourage_."

Kagome wondered if it would be terribly wrong of her to hit the demon. She wasn't normally a very violent person, but this little bugger made her _mad_. She didn't appreciate the way he'd said entourage or the way he was looking at her nephew.

"Who wants to know?" She demanded harshly before she could stop herself, twitching her skirts so that Shippo was hidden from view.

"I am Jaken. I work for Lord Sesshomaru. You will come with me." Jaken stepped aside and gestured at a carriage waiting at the end of the platform. They hadn't noticed it before; they hadn't even heard it come up. A hood covered the driver's face and the horses were black, but the carriage lantern was bright and the drapes on the windows looked warm. Like a shot the girls and Shippo were inside the carriage, their bags at their feet and their backs burrowing into the soft velvet-cushioned seats. They sighed with relief as their faces began to thaw. Jaken came in after them and banged on the roof with his two-headed staff. Immediately the carriage shuddered and began to move.

"Is something wrong?" Sango managed to ask when her cheeks were warm enough for her to speak without slurring.

"No." Jaken frowned at her. "Why would you think something would be wrong?"

"It's just that the train was right on time and we've been waiting for two hours, at least." Sango frowned back.

"And?" Jaken's frown deepened. "Do you have a point, human?"

Sango stiffened in her seat, her hand automatically going to her hip only to remember that her club was in her bag along with her uniform. She bit her tongue and forced herself to relax. She'd let his attitude go, _this time_, but once she was back in uniform he'd better learn to respect her or there would be a reckoning.

"How rude." Kagome said, making her voice prim and proper like the women she catered to everyday at the store. "Need I remind you, servant, that we are guests of his lordship? I will see to it that he hears of this." Jaken paled.

"Ah." He stuttered. "Ah. Well. Now. There's really no need to bother his lordship with something like this. The, uh, the carriage had a broken wheel so we had to, uh, replace it. Yes. And that's why we were, uh, late. Yes. Late. I'm so sorry."

"I thought it might be something like that." Kagome smiled graciously and condescendingly. "And it _won't happen again_, yes?"

"Yes." Jaken nodded fervently. Lord Sesshomaru would not be happy if he learned that his guests had been treated with anything other than reverence, even if they were worthless humans. His lordship was very strict.

The rest of the carriage ride passed in uneasy silence, neither party enjoying the company of the other, but fortunately the estate was only a short distance from the village. As they pulled to a halt before a set of marble steps Kagome heaved a sigh of relief. She didn't think she would have survived another minute of Jaken's harsh glares and bad breath.

"We've arrived, madams." The coachman announced as he pulled open the door and stood to the side so his passengers could emerge.

"Oh my." Sango breathed as she set her foot on the cobble stones and stared up at the Taisho ancestral home.

In what way was _this _a _home_? It was a temple of alabaster marble, spotted with dark windows, with buttresses and turrets and gargoyles galore. There were Doric columns and a great big-ass door. A door with descriptive reliefs that told a story about murder. A door with giant wolf doorknockers. A door to bully all other doors. It was something all right, but not a home.

There was a punch line in that somewhere, but Sango was too tired to figure out what it was.

"…Do we just walk in the door?" Kagome whispered to Sango. "Do we need a battering ram?"

"I think we should go in through the kitchen." Sango whispered back. "That's always safer. Front doors only lead to trouble."

But before either of the women could make a move the steps were flooded with light as the entry was thrown open and a petite figure came flying towards them.

"Guests!" A little girl cried in excitement. "Guests! They're here! They're here! Yay!"

"Oof." Kagome gasped for breath as the girl collided head-first with her abdomen. The girl threw her arms around Kagome and squeezed, all the while saying something in a very high pitched voice that seemed to get higher the longer she babbled but no one could make out a word of it because her face was pressed into Kagome's stomach. "Uh….hello. My, you're friendly." Kagome managed to say. She looked down at the little girl's head. "What's your name?"

Finally the girl released her and raised her face, smiling the happiest smile Kagome had ever seen. "Rin!" She chirped, and off she went. Kagome and Sango nodded politely and made noises every time Rin stopped for breath but they couldn't make head or tails of what they were being told. Rin talked way too fast for any normal human. It was like the words were racing each other out of her mouth. At times Kagome could almost swear that Rin was actually saying more than one word at once, that the words tripped over each other in their rush and tumbled out of the open mouth in a tangle of syllables. If they hadn't been so tired they would have found the spectacle fascinating. As it was both women couldn't suppress the twinge of gratitude when Jaken interrupted and ordered Rin to stop bothering His Lordship's gusts.

"I'm sure they are all very tired and wish to go to bed-there is no time for your absurdities you noxious child. Away with you!" Jaken pushed past her and marched up the steps to the open doorway. Sango and Kagome followed him, leaving their luggage with the footboy. As they passed her they both smiled apologetically at Rin, who waved aside their concern and grinned cheekily in return.

"Good night!" She called after the,. "Sleep tight!" When Jaken slammed the door shut she turned to Shippo who was still eyeing the footboy suspiciously.

_You mean he never even __**peeks**__? _Shippo wondered. _Doesn't he get curious? Who KNOWS what's in those bags? What's wrong with him?_ His thoughts were interrupted when he realized Rin was staring at him.

"What?" He asked.

"Wanna see something cool?" Rin asked. "It's in the tower. But we're supposed to go in there."

"Awesome!"

…

_**I'm sorry for the long delay. There was an incident involving my computer and a glass of water. So I've been without a working computer for the past couple months, traveling from monitor to monitor with my external hard drive. I've been trying to remedy the situation but computers are expensive and I am poor. Basically updates will continue to be touch-and-go until I can get a new computer but please bear with me!**_

_**Roar!**_

_**The Review Lion says that you should review and support me in my time of need. Please?**_

_**Till next time!**_

_**Sincerely,**_

_**Pwale**_


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